One Kiss
by mayghaen17
Summary: All Damon wants from Elena is one kiss...just one.  But one kiss can change everything...
1. The Return

**a/n: since I don't know where I'm going with this, I'll just post the first chapter now and let the plot come to me. I have a few ideas, but I might wait until the show progresses a little bit. So for now, consider this a one shot. Within Temptation is finished and in the beta stage so don't worry about me not updating that one :) This chapter is not beta'd, just fyi. The rest of the story probably will be. Alrighty, enjoy :)**

ONE

Elena came out of her bathroom and jumped at the sight of Damon sitting on the foot of her bed. Her hand went over her heart as she gulped for air. "You scared me."

"You should just expect things to be lurking around the corner. Your life is full of things that go bump in the night," he said, staring off into space.

Elena had moved to the other side of her bed to get to her dresser by the time he finished speaking. She turned to look at him and tilted her head to the side as she recalled the slur in his words. "Have you been drinking?"

"Just a little," he said and held up his hand to show her his forefinger and thumb barely touching.

"Great, and you're upset. Not a good combination." She folded her arms across her chest to keep herself from touching him. In this state, he might take it the wrong way and lash out at her.

He gave a terse laugh. "Upset? That would imply that I care about something."

Elena rolled her eyes. _Here we go again_. "Damon, you have feelings. I know-"

He cut her off by getting to his feet faster than she could blink. "Why are you so surprised that I thought you would kiss me back?"

She saw the tension in his body; could smell the scotch on his breath. It made her nervous because the way he was acting reminded her of how he had been when he first came to town. "Because, Damon," she started. She swallowed thickly and fought the urge to step back from him. "I'm in love with Stefan. I don't go around kissing other people. Especially ones that have done nothing but terrorize my family and friends."

Damon advanced on her, stopping only when her back was flush against the dresser. He could smell her fear no matter how hard she tried to mask it. The quickening of her heart beat filled his ears as he leaned into her. "There is something between us Elena. There has been for quite some time. Are you going to deny this because you claim to love my brother? What if you had met me first?"

"Well, I didn't," was all she could say. Her brain was near shutting down from his closeness. Yes, she had been beginning to feel something towards him lately, but she had chalked it up to friendship since they began bonding in Georgia.

"Do I have to remind you that Stefan stalked you for an entire summer before introducing himself? If it hadn't been for your resemblance to Katherine, he wouldn't have saved you from the river. You would be six feet under right next to your parents."

His sharp words cleared the fogginess in her mind and she reached up to put her hands on his shoulders before pushing with every ounce of strength that she had. "He would have saved me regardless because that's what Stefan does!" she hissed, continuing to shove him. He didn't move an inch; he only smirked at her attempts to get away. "That's why I'm with _him_ and not _you_!"

The smirk on his face evaporated and he grabbed her hands, yanking them down to her sides. He pressed his front against her and looked down at her with anger burning in his eyes. "You don't know anything about me!" he growled.

Her eyes were wide with fright. "Right now, I don't want to know you. Not if you're going to be like this." Her voice was timid and small, but it got the message across.

The anger in his eyes simmered down and he let go of her hands, letting his trail up her arms until they rested on her shoulders. "I poured my heart out to you."

Elena felt her heart nearly break from the pain in his voice and the sadness in his eyes. "Damon," she whispered. "I have no problem being your friend, but that's all we'll ever be. I can't help it if you have feelings for me, but I love Stefan. I know you don't want to hear that right now, but you _need_ to. I'm so sorry that Katherine gave you false hope, but I can't be with you. There will never be an us." Even as she finished her speech, she felt her confidence waning. She hated herself more and more with each word.

Damon sensed her change of self confidence in the tone of her voice. "If you're so certain that you don't feel anything towards me other than friendship, what's the harm in one kiss?"

"Damon-"

"Kissing is not cheating," he informed her.

"It is when you look like Katherine," she said stonily. "Stefan wanted to kill you for kissing Katherine and thinking it was me. How do you think he'll react if he knew I had kissed you freely?"

He smirked at her, but the humor didn't reach his eyes. "What makes you think I care about Saint Stefan?"

"Damon!"

"Why do you always say my name like I did something wrong?" he asked, his lips curled into a look of mild distaste.

"Can you blame me?" she asked quietly.

He gave her a look that said he didn't blame her, but then all of his emotions drained away. "One kiss, Elena. That's all I ask. Afterwards, if you still think of me as Stefan's older, much more attractive, jerk of a brother, I will keep my feelings to myself. We will go back to being friends and Stefan will never know what happened." His voice had dropped his cocky attitude and his eyes turned soft with adoration as he moved his hands to her neck; his thumbs gently tracing her jaw. "I can't live the rest of my life knowing that the one time I opened up to you, you weren't even there."

Elena shook her head absently and stared up at him. As much as she wanted to agree to his challenge, she wasn't sure that she would be strong enough to keep her distance. There was a part of her that was reveling in his touches, telling her that if he kissed her, her restraint would break and she would give in. "I can't do that."

"Stefan would never have to know."

"I would know."

"If you don't have any feelings for me you shouldn't be so scared."

"No," she said even though it sounded more like a plea.

"Give me one good reason," he demanded, leaning in until his face was inches from hers.

"You're drunk," she blurted out, unable to think of anything better to say.

He smirked at her answer. "You'll have to do better than that," he told her and moved his lips closer.

Elena racked her brain for all the reasons why they shouldn't do this. Yet, as his lips moved dangerously close to hers, all thoughts escaped and her eyes closed. But the kiss never came. She opened her eyes again to see Damon had pulled his head back to give her room to breathe. A wave of relief washed over her and she let out the breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"What I meant was you're not thinking clearly. And after all that's happened tonight, neither am I. Right now, I don't even know which way is up."

"So?"

"So I'm not going to kiss you. Not right now."

She felt Damon tense as he tried to keep himself from feeling the faint bit of hope that was beginning to course through him. "But you will." It was a statement, not a question.

"When you're sober and I can think clearly."

The hope that had been rising in him vanished and he scowled at her. "So you can take some time to make sure that you keep your feelings under control? I don't think so."

Elena's eyes went wide as she realized what was about to happen. Unable to do anything about it, she stood there and shut her eyes the moment his lips came crashing down on hers. Her plan was to keep her eyes closed and think of nothing but Stefan, but her mind couldn't even conjure up her own name at the moment, let alone the image of her boyfriend.

Damon's hands moved up until they were lost in the soft, free-flowing curls of her hair. He could feel her resistance and it was fading quickly. He pressed himself against her a little more and groaned in satisfaction as her lips parted to let a gasp of surprise escape. Elena quickly realized that nothing was going to be able to stop her from giving in and kissing him back. The moment his tongue swept across hers, she felt a shudder of intense pleasure throughout her entire body. All the emotions towards him that she had been trying so hard to keep hidden came rushing to the surface.

Elena felt his hands moving through her hair and the passionate tug of his lips. She returned his kiss in full, completely lost in the sensuous feel of his body pressed against hers. Her hands moved to his sides and clenched at the material of his shirt. She had intended to push him away but ended up pulling him closer. Damon groaned again as she urged him on by returning his kiss with as much pent up anger and passion that he was unleashing.

Elena gasped in surprise as he grabbed a fist full of her hair and tugged her head back. It was gentle and rough at the same time; just enough to drive her crazy. His lips moved to the corner of her mouth and then down to the delicate skin of her throat. As she felt the faint scrape of teeth on her flesh, the reality of the situation set in and she began to panic.

"Damon, stop!" she demanded, moving her hands to his head to pull him off of her.

Damon heard the urgency in her voice and tore himself away. He moved as if touching her burned him and stopped only because he crashed into the wall on the opposite side of the room. They both stood there, staring at each other and breathing hard. Damon's eyes flickered towards her kiss-swollen lips for a brief second before returning to her eyes. They were beginning to pool with tears; appearing to be made of glass.

When he could feel the blood lust fading, he crossed the room and stood right in front of her. He leaned in and pressed his lips to her ear. "I was right. There is something between us. No use in denying it now."

His words made her shiver and she pushed him away. He stepped back and watched as she walked to the window. "Get out."

"Elena-"

"Get out!" she repeated. She knew she was shouting loud enough for anyone else in the house to hear her, but she didn't care. "I'm in love with Stefan. If you care for me at all, you'll leave. Now."

"But-"

"You got your kiss, Damon and it hasn't changed anything. I don't care if there is something between us. Whatever it is, it is _nothing_ in comparison to what I have with Stefan."

Damon narrowed his eyes at her. She was angry and he couldn't blame her, but her body was trembling to the point where he knew she would collapse at any given moment. The tears gathering in her eyes were threatening to fall, but she refused to let them. He approached her slowly and bent to her ear again. She went to shove him but he grabbed her hands. "That's a lie and you know it," he whispered harshly.

"It's not," she protested weakly.

"I'll keep this between us, for now," he said and moved to stand in front of the window. "Because sooner or later you're going to realize that I'm right."

And with that, he was gone, leaving Elena to collapse into a heap on the floor trying to figure out where to go from there.


	2. Brave New World

**a/n: for this story, Damon didn't kill Jeremy after the kiss with Elena, but since Jeremy knows, he puts the vervain in Damon's liquor anyway.**

**so I got twenty reviews for one chapter...that is a personal best for me. Thank you guys so much! I'm really glad you like this story. Hopefully this chapter lives up to your expectations after the first one :) For those of you that don't read Within Temptation, I'll tell you what I have planned for this story. I'm going to be taking each episode and changing it to make it pure Delena. That being said, this story is more like a deleted scene than a rewrite.**

**last thing! I started writing my Delena wedding story (from the Nothing Without You series) so look for it soon :)**

TWO

There were arms wrapped around her, making her feel secure. Her back rested against a muscular chest. His cheek was pressed against hers, making her smile. "I love you, you know that right?" he asked.

She nodded and turned her head to the side in order to see him. "Of course I know that," she returned, reveling in the feel of his arms tightening their hold. "I love you too."

He kissed her cheek and moved his lips to her ear, gently taking her lobe between his teeth. She smiled more and relaxed against him. She had never felt this safe before. It was a strange thought, considering she knew what he was; what he was capable of doing, but it was true. Wanting to kiss him properly, she managed to turn in his arms. Her eyes went wide with shock at the sight of _him._ His blue eyes were staring at her with wonder and love; his black hair hanging haphazardly as if her fingers had raked through them one too many times before.

"Elena," he breathed, reaching up to cup her face while he leaned in.

The moment his lips touched hers, a jolt of electricity coursed through her body. It was the same burst of emotion she had felt when he had kissed her in her room, when he had almost staked her, when Bonnie had almost killed him. "Damon..." she whispered.

"What?" came a stern, familiar voice.

Elena sat up straight, taking in the sight of her bedroom. Her mind was racing while her heart hammered in her chest. Her hand went to her lips as she looked at Stefan with fright. "I-" she started, speaking around her fingers.

Stefan shook his head and sat on the edge of her bed, looking at her with curiosity and a hint of jealousy. "Why were you dreaming of Damon?" he asked, his eyes darting to her window.

She shrugged and took a deep breath, trying to clear her mind. "I have no idea," she said. She had told Stefan about Damon's visit, but not about the kiss. Stefan knew she didn't want to be around Damon, she had said as much during the carnival, but the dream...that was eerie. "God, that was so weird," she breathed, leaning forward to put her head in her hands. When everything settled, she looked at Stefan. "What are you doing here?"

He smiled at her, choosing to ignore the fact that she had said his brother's name the moment he kissed her. "I took Caroline home and helped her with a few things. Now that that is taken care of, there's something we have to do," he said, getting to his feet and extending a hand to her.

"Such as?"

His smile widened as he beckoned her with his hand. "It's a surprise."

"Stefan, it's- What time is it?"

He sighed, knowing that she hated surprises. "It's almost dawn. Come on, get dressed."

She smiled and got to her feet. "Where are we going?" she asked again as she headed to her dresser to get a pair of jeans.

"To the Ferris wheel. I believe I owe you a kiss at the very top." Elena paused and turned to look at him. When her lips parted with the beginnings of a question, he used his speed to stand before her and lay his hand over her mouth. "Please don't ask any questions."

Elena nodded and continued getting ready. Instead of using her window like he had to get in, they walked downstairs to use the front door. Stefan's car was out front, causing Elena to shake her head. He could have used his speed to get them both there, but instead, he had brought his car. The drive was silent, which was hard for Elena because it gave her a chance to think about the dream.

When they arrived, Stefan had her wait at the car and came back five minutes later. "Where'd you go?" she asked.

"I told the guards to take a break," he explained and led her to the Ferris wheel.

She looked up and then around at the deserted fair grounds. "Um, how are we supposed to get up there?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

He grinned and wrapped his arms around her. "Hold on tight," he told her.

Elena gasped in surprise as they went soaring into the air only to land softly in the carriage at the top of the ferris wheel. "That was incredible," she breathed, taking a few short breaths as she looked around. "Why did you bring me here?"

He ran his fingers through her hair and smiled at her. "Because I promised you that I would. It may not be exactly as you imagined it earlier, but we have to take these moments when we can. Who knows when we'll have time to be normal again."

Elena groaned and sat back. "You think she'll come back?"

She saw him nod and turned to look at him again. "What she did to Caroline is only the beginning. She'll be back alright, and she won't be leaving until either she dies or we do." Again, he prevented Elena from speaking by putting two fingers over her lips. "I don't want to talk about her. Right now, I want to kiss you and hold you until the sun comes up."

Elena nodded and smiled lightly at him. "I think I can managed that," she returned and leaned into him.

She closed her eyes when their lips met. Elena stilled as she thought of the kiss she shared with Damon. Stefan's kiss felt like an elementary playground kiss in comparison. She squashed that thought and kissed Stefan back, hoping that he hadn't sensed her hesitation. When they broke apart, they smiled at each other. She rested her head on his shoulder and he pulled her close. They sat like that for hours, watching the sun rise, enjoying the normality while it lasted.

* * *

Damon sat on the couch in the boarding house with an empty glass tumbler in his hands. Since Jeremy had spiked his liquor, he had been reduced to putting himself in a trance. For countless hours, he had been staring at the fireplace with the images of Elena parading in front of him on repeat. First, there was the kiss in her bedroom. The one where she had claimed she felt more for Stefan than she had for him. He scoffed and raised the glass to his lips, only to scowl at the fact that it was still empty.

Second, there was the image of how she looked when she had stepped in front of the stake that had been intended for Caroline. Had he not seen her when he did, that stake would have been driven straight through her heart. And there wouldn't have been anything he could do to bring her back. His hand tightened on the glass to the point where it cracked, but didn't shatter. He would never have been able to forgive himself if he hadn't stopped in time.

Then, at last, the pain in her voice when Elena realized Bonnie wasn't going to stop using her magick until he was dead. The sight of her jumping over _fire_ to save _him_ gave Damon more than enough hope. Maybe she had realized her feelings for him ran deeper than she thought.

For the thousandth time that night, Damon brought the tumbler to his lips. Infuriated by the lack scotch, he pushed himself to his feet and launched the tumbler at the mantle. It was the second glass he had shattered in two days. Damon rolled his eyes, knowing Stefan was going to watch him even more closely. Especially because he did want Caroline dead; really dead. The idea of her following him around forever was... He stopped and laughed; Caroline would be to Damon what he was to Stefan. After his bout of laughter, he shuddered; utterly mortified by that thought.

"I need more liquor," he announced to the empty mansion. He brought the bottle to the kitchen and dumped, leaving the bottle in the sink. He knew there was a cart full of liquor, but Jeremy had ruined his favorite scotch. It was the only thing he had found over the years that would calm him. Everything else seemed to make his mood worse or had no effect at all. Right now, with the thoughts and images of Elena fresh in his mind, he needed any help he could get.

That girl would be the death of him.

Using his vampiric speed, he was at the liquor store in no time. He took his time browsing around, trying to force patience to come to him. After making his selection, he headed to the front counter. As the man at the register opened his mouth to tell him the price, Damon locked eyes with him. "This is free."

The man stared off into space for a moment and then nodded. "Don't worry about, it's on the house," he said in a monotonous voice.

"Great," Damon said and grinned at the other man. With that, he grabbed the bottle and left the store. As he stood on the sidewalk, he thought about where to go. The easy answer was home, but he wanted- needed- to see Elena. He wanted to thank her for saving his life, again.

Before he could think it through, he was standing in front of her house. Using his vampire abilities, he jumped to her window and climbed in. His body went rigid at the sight of her empty bed. He set the bottle on the dresser and looked around for any signs of distress, but there wasn't any. Just as he was about to go wake Jeremy to find out what had happened, he heard Elena's stifled giggle.

The sound of the front door opening allowed Damon to relax a bit, only to tense when he heard Stefan's voice. "Do you want me to tuck you in?" he asked. Damon shuddered held his stomach as though he were going to be sick.

Elena giggled again. "If you do that, I'm not going to let you leave. Jenna would freak out if she knew about this." Damon gagged as he heard kissing noises.

"Alright. I'll see you in school then?"

"Goodnight Stefan."

"Good morning Elena," he returned.

Relief washed over Damon as he heard Elena ascend the stairs. Alone. He felt his lips take on the shape of a smirk as the doorknob twisted beneath her fingers. As she pushed the door open, the happiness in her was replaced with fear and he heard the sharp intake of breath. "Boo."

Her fear gave way to fury as her lips pressed together to form a thin line. She hurried to close the door and turned back to glare at him. "What the hell are you doing here?" she hissed.

Damon half turned to look out the window, surprised to see that the sun was beginning to show over the horizon. "I believe the better question is why are you just coming home."

"My _boyfriend_ had a surprise for me." The way she said _that_ word left him feeling as if she had shoved a sliver of wood into his body.

"How sweet," he said in a deadpan voice. Damon sighed and rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to kiss you again," he informed her. "Unless, of course, you want me to," he added, waggling his brows at her suggestively.

Elena paled, remembering the dream she had woken up from. Her hand immediately went to her necklace as she stepped back. Damon noticed the change in her. "Damon..." she muttered, using that tone that said he did something wrong. "What are you doing here?" Elena enunciated each word, hoping that he would just get it over with and leave her alone.

"I came to thank you," he said bluntly.

He saw her straighten, her eyes narrowing in confusion. "Thank me?"

"You saved my life. Again," he added, hating that fact that a human girl had managed to save him at least three times now.

He saw the smile tug at the corner of her lips as she crossed her arms over her chest. "It's becoming somewhat of a chore."

Damon grabbed the bottle from the dresser and opened it. "Care to have a drink with me?"

"Not really."

"Please? It's a special occasion."

She shook her head in disbelief. "How do you figure?"

"You saved my life," he repeated, tipping the bottle towards her in invitation. "Not many people would do that and I feel like celebrating."

Elena kept her eyes narrowed as she crossed the room and gently took the bottle from him. She raised it to her lips and took a deep drink; the liquid burning its way down her throat. As she pulled the bottle away, she coughed. "That stuff is horrible."

Damon took the bottle from her and took a drink. He got a hint of her mixed in with the alcohol, making it hard for him to be near her for much longer. "Why did you save me? I thought you hated me."

She shook her head again. "I never said I hated you." The words made him take another drink. "I care about you Damon, I do. We're friends. You're there when I need you and I'm here when you need me." She paused as he took another drink, longer this time. He knew what was coming next. "Yes, I feel something for you, but I'm with Stefan. That's not going to change. I can't help that you have feelings for me and I'm sorry that I can't return them. Like I said before, I have no problem being your friend, but if you don't think you can just be friends with me, then I can't keep that relationship with you. I won't do that to Stefan; I don't want to be like Katherine."

Damon knew she had given a speech, but he only heard the part where she admitted she had some feelings for him. "You have feelings for me?"

Elena rolled her eyes and groaned in frustration. "Damon-"

With a growl, Damon surged forward until he had Elena pinned between him and the wall by the bathroom door. "Stop. That."

"Stop what?" she asked, trying to get her breathing under control.

"Saying my name like that."

"I can't help it!" she hissed, trying to get out of his hold. Instead, she ended up trapping herself even more. "Damn it, Damon, back up!" she demanded.

"Tell me about your feelings for me."

"It doesn't matter. I'm with Stefan."

He shook her shoulders and leaned in closer to her. "You jumped through _fire_ to save _me_."

"Oh please, those flames weren't that high," she argued and shoved at him again. "I saved you because I care about you as a _friend_. I couldn't let Bonnie kill you. She would never have forgiven herself. Not because it was you, but because she had killed."

"Bull shit."

Elena groaned in frustration and dug her nails into his biceps, trying everything she could think of to dislodge him. "I didn't want you to die, Damon. I told you I care about you, what more do you want me to say?"

The pleading tone of her voice broke through to him. His eyes widened as he realized he was borderline forcing himself upon her. He stepped back and held his hands up in surrender. "I don't know," he answered softly, raking his hand through his hair.

Elena pulled at her clothes and crossed her arms over her chest again. "You should go."

Damon cringed at the coldness in her voice. "I'm sorry."

"Are you?" she asked, holding his gaze.

"Yes," he answered and sat on the edge of her bed. He bent forward to rest his head in his hands, his elbows on his thighs. "I just wanted to thank you for saving me, not attack you."

Elena let the truth of the words settle in before she moved to sit next to him. "I feel something for you, Damon. There's no denying it after a kiss like that, but I'm with Stefan. At the risk of repeating myself, I only want your friendship. I will push you away if I have to. Don't make me regret being your friend."

They sat in silence for a long while before Damon spoke again. "Katherine came to see me last night before she left."

"Before or after you came here?"

"Before." That answer told her everything. Elena brought her hand up and rested it on his shoulder, squeezing lightly. "She told me that she came back for Stefan; that she never loved me at all."

"Damon, she only said that because she knew it would make you do something you'd regret. She's playing with you. You can't believe anything that comes out of her mouth."

Elena froze as he lifted his head to look at her. "She may have manipulated and played games, but lying was something she never did. It was yet another thing we had in common." Her nearness was getting to him, causing him to get to his feet and go for the bottle once more.

"I'm asking you not to believe her."

"Why?"

"Because it's tearing you apart and I hate seeing you like this."

A smirk touched his lips. "You're afraid."

"Of course I'm afraid. You were bloodthirsty and hell bent on revenge when you came here and now that Katherine's said that to you, it's like you reverted to your old self again." Elena cleared her throat and continued with the part that frightened her the most. "And if your anger is directed at Katherine for wanting Stefan, I'm afraid that you're going to confuse me for her."

Faster than she could blink, Damon had her on her feet and in his arms. He noticed that she was rigid and he felt her heart skip a beat. Elena swallowed thickly as his arms tightened around her. Strangely, she felt secure; like she had in the dream. "I'm not going to confuse you for her."

"You thought she was me," she reminded him softly.

His arms tightened again. If they moved any more, he would be cutting off her air supply. He couldn't think of anything to say to her because it was true. He wanted so desperately to tell Elena how he felt that he had ignored the warning signs telling him that something wasn't right. He stepped back and cupped her face, tipping it up slightly so her brown eyes could lock with his blue ones. "I promise I will never lash out at you nor will I mistake you for Katherine."

Elena could only stare at him. Being with him was like being caught in a tornado. One minute, he could be angry and trying to rip your throat out and the next he was sweet and gentle. Right now, all she could feel was the loss of his arms around her. It bothered her, that she could feel so safe in his arms when most of her problems in town were because of him. She wanted him as a friend, but there was _something_ in her that wanted...more.

As they continued to stare at each other, Damon felt himself leaning in slowly. He took his time, not wanting to scare her off. To his delight, she remained before him. Their lips met, sending a spark down both of their spines. Damon waited to see if she would pull away. Instead, Elena parted her lips and initiated the kiss. His hold on her face tightened slightly, enough to draw her in closer. That turned the spark into a raging fire. Elena wrapped her arms around his neck, sinking her fingers into his hair as she returned his kiss; holding nothing back.

As Damon took one step towards her bed, her bathroom door opened and the sound of Jeremy's voice broke them apart. "Elena? What the hell is going on?"

Damon glared at the younger Gilbert. First he had tried to poison him and now he had interrupted what could have been a very good morning. "You're really starting to get on my nerves, Kid."

As Elena moved towards Jeremy, he could tell that if he hadn't interrupted, Elena would have gone mad over what she had done. "Next time, I won't warn you."

"What are you talking about?" Elena asked, looking back and forth between them.

Damon grabbed the bottle of scotch from the dresser and took a long drink. "Thanks again, Elena." Before she could say anything else, he was gone.

Jeremy turned towards Elena but she held up her hand. "Don't ask me anything, but promise me that you won't tell anyone what you saw."

He nodded, hearing the desperation in her voice. "I heard you talking and then there was nothing. I thought he was hurting you."

Elena stepped forward to hug him. "Thank you, Jer." She stepped back and smiled at him. "We'll talk about things later. Right now, I want to go back to bed."

Jeremy nodded and went back to his room through the bathroom. Exhausted, Elena climbed back into bed without changing back into her pajamas. Before she knew it, she was asleep, unable to think of anything but the kiss.


	3. Bad Moon Rising

**a/n: ugh...the CW is trying to kill us Delena fans...**

THREE

Elena sat in the back of Alaric's car, trying very hard to keep her eyes focused on the road before her. She hated the fact that Stefan had to stay behind to babysit Caroline, leaving her to be alone with Damon. The feel of his lips on hers, his arms wrapped around her tightly still plagued her. She let her eyes close as she thought of what could have happened, what _would_ have happened if Jeremy hadn't interrupted.

Damon watched Elena battle her inner demons from the side mirror. He could catch glimpses of her if he positioned himself the right way. The way she had kissed Stefan in front of him before their trip didn't sit well with him. It meant that her emotions for him were starting to come out and they were scaring her. If he wasn't careful, he would lose the progress he had worked so hard to make.

Every so often, Damon would cover the smile that took hold of his lips when he felt Elena's eyes burning a hole through the back of his head. He couldn't read her mind, but he knew that every time she looked at him, she was reliving that kiss. He knew because it was the same for him when he looked at her.

Damon shifted in his seat and did a double take as he noticed the stifled smirk on Alaric's face. "What?" he asked, noticing Elena's attention turning to him from the corner of his eye.

"Nothing," Alaric responded and cleared his throat before letting his smirk widen.

Damon turned to look at Elena. He couldn't help but smile with smug satisfaction at the way she straightened up quickly and blushed ever so slightly. If he had been human, he wouldn't have noticed the faint change of color in her cheeks. "And you," he started. "How long is this silent treatment going to last? For that matter, would you mind explaining what I did to deserve it?"

Elena glared at him; he knew exactly what he did. Her eyes darted to Alaric's reflection in the rearview mirror before returning to Damon. "Now is not the time to talk about it," she muttered.

Alaric's smirk faded as he glanced at Damon. Something was going on between the two of them and he was one hundred percent sure he didn't want to know what it was. He was also a hundred percent sure that he knew what it was anyway. Damon sat back and looked out the windshield. "Now is the perfect time to talk about it. Ric here can play mediator."

"Damon," she warned, using that tone that made him grind his teeth and clutch at the seat, almost tearing it to shreds. "Drop it," she added, putting a significant amount of seriousness in her voice.

When the moment of tension passed, Elena put her head against the window and let her eyes close, trying her best to block out any thoughts of Damon. Damon shook himself and looked at Alaric. "So, if Isobel has been 'missing' for two years, why did they keep her office? Don't they usually pack it up and hire someone new?" He refused to sit in a silent car; the beating of both their hearts was driving him crazy.

Alaric shrugged. "That's what I always thought," he answered.

Damon waited for more words to follow and sighed when the teacher fell silent. "The two of you are horrible company," he announced and reached for the radio.

Elena couldn't help but smile as the two men up front began arguing about miniscule things; who the greatest band was, the best song, things like that. It was so...normal. Damon caught her smile in the side mirror and smirked arrogantly. It was a step in the right direction.

By the time they reached Duke, Elena was more than ready to get out and stretch. Her body was sore from sitting in the car; she could only imagine how Alaric was feeling given that he was the one driving. The second the car slid into a parking space, Elena bolted out and sighed with relief. "I'll be right back," Alaric told them as he began walking towards the main building.

Elena tensed a bit at the thought of being alone with Damon, but recovered almost immediately. She did a few stretches to get the ache out of her body and then leaned against the car while she waited. Damon stood next to her and she tried her best to ignore him. "So this silent treatment, is this because you kissed me?"

Her head snapped to the side. "You kissed me, I did _not_ kiss you!" she hissed and pushed herself away from the car.

Damon grabbed her and pulled her back, pinning her between him and the car. His head tilted to the side out of amusement. "I may have started it," he said and brought his hand up to caress her cheek. "But you didn't exactly pull away."

Elena saw him leaning in. This time, she had enough strength to push him away. He looked mildly surprised, although it was hard to tell with the grin still on his face. "Stop it, Damon," she demanded and took off in the direction Alaric had gone.

Elena stopped in front of the steps leading to the building, tensing as she felt Damon stop _right_ behind her. "Elena-" he started, only to be cut off by Alaric coming out of the building.

"Alright, we're cleared," he announced and beckoned for the two of them to follow his lead.

Elena practically ran after him, using every muscle in her legs to keep her stride evenly matched with Alaric's. Damon walked behind them, enjoying the view. "Do you think we should bring this stuff back with us?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Maybe."

"She's been missing for two years. I'm sure the university would allow you to bring this stuff home. She was your wife."

Alaric glanced down at the girl beside him. "I'll think about it," he assured her and opened the door to one of the large buildings. Once Elena passed, he walked in, letting Damon hold the door for himself. He caught the vampire's narrowed eyes before following Elena inside.

He led them down a corridor and into a large room. There was a girl rifling through a file cabinet when they walked in. "Hello," she said and smiled in their direction. "Can I help you?"

"I'm Alaric Saltzman, this is Damon and Elena. We're here to check out my..." he paused to clear his throat. "Isobel's office. We need something from her research."

She nodded and turned around. "Right this way," she said and led them through the room until they came to a door marked "OFFICE." The girl pushed it open and waited for the three guests to pass her. "I'm Vanessa Monroe, one of Isobel's students. Has there been any news on her whereabouts?" she asked, looking at Alaric.

His lips pressed into a thin line as he shook his head. "No," he lied.

Elena looked away; lying was not her strong suit. As she turned, she saw a shelf with old relics and fossils from the past. "This is all Isobel's?" she breathed, not necessarily for anyone in particular.

"Isobel always loved dead things," Damon quipped.

Elena turned to give him a look of disgust as Alaric took a deep breath and moved to another area of the office. "Damon-"

The smirk dropped from his face, not from her words, but because something was off. "Where is she?" he asked, referring to the new girl as he looked at Alaric.

Before he could answer, Vanessa appeared in the doorway. She was holding a loaded crossbow aimed at Elena's heart. Damon sped across the room and made it just in time to take the arrow in his back for Elena. He groaned in pain and locked eyes with Elena. Her body had gone still from shock, but her breathing was shallow. Damon felt his knees beginning to buckle and instead of landing on the ground like he was aiming for, he ended up falling forward, trapping Elena between him and the bookcase.

Elena gasped as the edge dug into her back from Damon's dead weight pushing against her. She watched Alaric take Vanessa out of the room after getting the weapon from her. Once they were alone, Elena took a deep breath. She did a double take as she noticed the veins under Damon's eyes becoming more prominent. That gave her enough strength to push him away long enough to get out from underneath him. Elena stood behind him, staring at the arrow protruding from his shoulder.

"Will you pull the damn thing out already?" he growled, bracing himself against the bookcase.

His voice allowed her to put the shock of almost being killed away and she stepped forward. Elena raised her hands four or five times before she finally got the courage to wrap her fingers around the arrow. Closing her eyes, she tightened her grasp and pulled it out. Damon shuddered and rolled his shoulders as the wound began to heal.

"I guess this means we're even," Elena heard herself say as she stared at the arrow in her hands.

Damon turned and plucked it from her hands and tossed it into the nearest trash can. "Not even close," he replied and began walking towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Elena asked, grabbing onto his arm.

"She almost killed you," he growled.

Elena withdrew her hand, frightened by the rate of which his eyes were darkening. "Yeah, but she didn't."

He went still as a statue for a moment and then nodded. "Fine. I won't kill her, but if she tries again..."

Elena nodded. "Thank you."

Damon followed Elena out of the room where Alaric was pressing Vanessa for information. "Look, Isobel told me the story of Mystic Falls and she showed me pictures of Katherine Pierce," she explained, glaring at Elena. "And she told me of Damon Salvatore; how he loved Katherine. So when you walked I just assumed and-"

"You really should think before you shoot people," Damon interrupted from behind Elena. "And if I were you, I would be _extra_ nice to me now."

Elena tried not to roll her eyes as she returned Vanessa's glare. "I'm not Katherine," she stated, letting her eyes flicker towards the bit of Damon that she could see. "My name is Elena Gilbert. I'm Isobel's daughter, one that she gave up for adoption in high school. I'm a descendent of Katherine's."

Vanessa looked at Alaric. "Safe to say you're not the father?"

"No," he answered and focused his attention elsewhere.

"We're here for something that Isobel researched," Elena added. "You don't have to help us, but I wouldn't try to prevent us from looking either."

Damon nodded, "I would listen to her if I were you."

Elena turned to face him. He gave her that "I couldn't help myself" look and she rolled her eyes. "Come on, we're wasting time."

Damon sighed as she walked past him and into the office. "Nothing's going to happen to your precious Stefan." Elena ignored his comment and began searching through the files that she could see.

* * *

Hours later, they had gone through all of Isobel's research. Fortunately, Vanessa had chosen to cooperate with them, answering questions as best she could. Nothing had Elena worried until they came across the legend of werewolves and the curse that plagued them. "I don't understand how werewolves could exist," Damon said after hearing the legend. Three pairs of eyes looked at him with doubt. "Yes, I know, vampires exist so everything else should, but I've been around for a century and a half and have yet to come across any wolves."

Vanessa nodded at that. "That's because vampires have gone to great lengths to destroy them."

"Why?" Alaric and Elena asked at the same time, glancing at each other briefly.

"Because a werewolf bite can be lethal to vampires."

The room went deadly silent and Elena began to worry even more. "I have to call Stefan," she said and excused herself.

He answered quickly. "Hey, how is everything?"

"We found something out."

"What?"

"Werewolf bites can kill vampires."

There was a bit of silence from Stefan. "Elena, I have to go."

"Stefan? What is it?"

"It's Caroline," he said with a bit of tension. "Thank you for letting me know," he said and hung up abruptly.

Elena stared at the ground before her for a moment before putting the phone back in her pocket. "What did lover boy have to say?" Damon asked from behind her, making her jump.

"Something came up with Caroline so we didn't get to say much," she replied, wrapping her arms around herself. "Have you...healed yet?" she asked, curiosity getting the best of her.

"I've been healed since you pulled that damn thing out of me. But, if you're offering..." he added in a low voice as he moved closer to her.

Elena shook her head and stepped back. "No."

Damon shrugged and smiled at her. "Can't blame a guy for trying," he said and walked past her.

Elena took a deep breath and followed him back inside. Once they started going through files again, Elena turned to Vanessa. "What do you know about doppelgangers?"

Damon stopped what he was doing and watched Elena's reaction to Vanessa's words. "Just that they are doubles of one another. The doppelganger's only purpose is to torment."

Elena snorted and ran a hand through her hair. "You don't have to tell me twice," she muttered and picked up one of the files from the box in front of her. "Do you have anything else on Katherine?"

Vanessa shook her head. "Just whatever is in that box."

Damon looked down at the book in his hand. _Petrova_ was the only word on the cover, located along the spine. It was Katherine's original name, that much he had learned from snooping around when he had been human. He would tell Elena about it when they were alone.

"I think we should head back. We found all that we need for right now," Alaric said.

Elena nodded in agreement. With the way Stefan had ended their phone call, she was eager to get back and find out what happened. It didn't help that she was exhausted. Who knew searching through an endless amount of paperwork could take so much out of a person? "That sounds good," Elena said and began putting things back where they belonged.

"Don't worry about it," Vanessa said, reaching over to grab her hands. "I'm kind of a neat freak with a strong sense of OCD."

Elena smiled and let go of the box. "Then I'll leave it to you."

"Thanks."

"I'll meet you two at the car?" Alaric said, nothing bothering to hide the fact that he had something to say to Vanessa that he didn't want Damon and Elena to overhear.

"Thanks again, Vanessa," Elena said as she gathered her things and headed towards the door. Not bothering to wait and see if Damon were behind her, Elena made her way to the outside of the building and then paused.

"Do you even remember where the car is?" came Damon's voice in her ear.

Elena whirled around and put some distance between them. "Yes!" she snapped and stalked off in what she hoped was the right direction.

Damon smirked and followed her at a distance. He was only slightly surprised that she found the car without any direction from him. His smirk turned into a full on grin at the sight of her yanking on the handle. He simply stepped into her view and pressed the unlock button, having gotten the keys from Alaric before following her out. Elena made a face at him and opened the door. As she moved to get in, he blocked her.

"What?" she asked.

He narrowed his eyes at her. Instead of mentioning the kiss, Damon placed the book in her hands. "I found this. It should answer some of your questions about Katherine."

Elena read the lettering on the spine and moved her hand carefully over the cover. "Petrova?"

"Katherine's original last name."

"How do you know?"

"I was curious about her. I wanted to know more, but she wouldn't tell me, so I had to do some digging of my own. Let me know what you find," he said.

She nodded and watched him as he stepped back. "Thanks for the book Damon," she said quietly and climbed into the back of the car.

Damon shut the door behind her and waved at Alaric. "Ready?" he asked.

"Yes, because I just love Mystic Falls far too much to stay away," Damon returned sarcastically.

The teacher grinned. "You may say that with sarcasm, but we both know it's the truth. Otherwise you wouldn't have come back in the first place."

Damon's eyes narrowed at him before he got into the passenger seat of the car. The ride home was filled with the sounds of the radio and none of the tension from earlier. Elena was sitting behind Alaric, allowing Damon to watch her as she flipped through the weathered pages of the book. By the time they got to the Gilbert house, Elena wanted to start reading despite the exhaustion that craved sleep.

Alaric parked in her driveway and the three of them got out. "Are you coming inside?" she asked Alaric.

He nodded. "I have to talk to your aunt," he said and headed to the house.

Elena stared after him, trying not to smile at the fact that he had blushed with embarrassment. The humor died as she looked at Damon who was leaning on the exterior of the house, watching her intently. "What?" she asked, holding the book to her chest.

"So are you angry at me because you kissed me or because Jeremy interrupted us?"

Elena mumbled something under her breath in frustration, not wanting to have this argument again. She looked at him and shook her head. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"And you'll give me an honest answer? No snarky side comment or sarcastic remark?"

He pushed himself away from the wall and studied her. "Yes."

"If Jeremy hadn't interrupted us, would you have stopped?"

He thought about it for a moment before replying with, "Would you?"

Elena hadn't expected that answer. Her lips parted and then pressed into a thin line, shaking her head again. "This isn't going to work."

"What isn't?"

"Us."

"Us?"

She sighed, "Our friendship."

Damon was taken aback by those words. They sliced through him just as bad, if not worse, than Katherine's words had. "May I ask why?"

"I'm with Stefan."

"That doesn't mean we can't be friends."

She took a deep breath and looked at him with saddened eyes. "We kissed; twice. I hate lying to him and it's eating me away inside. I do have feelings for you Damon, that last kiss proved it. I don't know what would have happened if Jeremy hadn't interrupted it us, but I'm glad he did." She paused to take another deep breath and gather her courage. "As I said before, I want to be your friend, but right now, it's getting hard to be near you without wanting to explore those feelings."

"Elena-" he started, but she cut him off.

"I will not be like Katherine. I'm making a choice and I'm choosing Stefan."

Damon's lip curled. "Katherine chose him too," he muttered, trying to keep his anger contained.

"It took her a hundred and fifty years to make a decision; it doesn't count," she argued, refusing to believe that Katherine had really come back for Stefan.

Faster than she could blink, Damon pinned her between himself and the exterior of the house. She let out a gasp of surprise and heard the book fall to the ground, landing by her feet. "At least Katherine had the decency to sample both of us before she made her choice," he growled and lowered his lips to hers.

Elena was determined not to give in; not when he was being like this. She turned her head to the side, breaking the kiss, and shoved at him with all her might. Granted, against a persistent vampire, it did nothing. "Damon, stop!" she demanded, trying not to alert anyone inside to what was going on.

Simultaneously, the pair went still. Elena's heavy breathing and pounding heart were the only audible things. Elena shut her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to get control of her breathing. She felt Damon move and it caused her eyelids to squeeze tighter. Instead of hurting her like she anticipated, he wrapped his arms around her and pressed his cheek to hers. Elena's eyes snapped open, stunned by the action; he was hugging her. "Elena, don't-"

The pleading in his voice tore her heart in two, but the rest of his words were interrupted by Alaric as he came out of the house. The smile that was on his face died at the sight of Damon and Elena holding onto each other. Elena used the distraction to pull away, get the book, and head as quickly as she could inside the house. Once inside, she rested against the front door and thought about what she had done, hoping that she had made the right choice.

Before she could dwell on the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, Jeremy's voice pulled her from her thoughts. "Hey, how was the trip?" he asked, coming down the stairs.

"What were you and Damon talking about the other day?" she asked, completely ignoring his question.

Jeremy straightened up and looked around for any sign of Jenna. "During the carnival, I went to the boarding house. Stefan gave me some liquid vervain and I put it in his liquor. I waited until he got back because I wanted to stake him."

"Why?"

"Because of what he did. He killed several people in this town. One of them was Vicki."

"Why didn't you stake him?"

Jeremy gave his sister a small smile. "Because if a murderous monster like Damon Salvatore can get _you_ to be friends with him, he can't be all bad."

Elena's eyes closed slightly, the feeling of nausea rolling through her. "Thanks, Jer," she said tightly and stepped forward to hug him. She swallowed around a tight throat and pulled back. Without another word, she headed up to her room, half expecting Damon to be there, completely surprised when he wasn't. She sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the book in her hands. In her heart, Elena knew she had done the right thing, but that didn't stop her from feeling guilty.

He was unstable as it was after Katherine's rejection, but Elena was certain that her words had pushed him over the edge. She was certain that Damon wouldn't recover from this, but she had made her choice and she had to live with it.


	4. Memory Lane

**a/n: so to make up for the lack of updates (it's killing me as much as it's killing you, trust me. :/ ) I'll try to make the chapters longer. Thanks again for the reviews/alerts/favorites! I can't tell you how much that means to me!**

**FOUR**

Elena woke up feeling the same way she had for the past few days; guilty. The situation with Damon left her uneasy and she avoided going anywhere unless she absolutely had to. She didn't want a confrontation with him or to see what he had done to himself as a way to cope with her rejection. Even things with Stefan had become awkward. He had come to her early the following morning to fill her in on what happened between Caroline and Matt. Elena couldn't help but feel sorry for Caroline, but she knew her friend was doing what was best. It was one of the few selfless things Caroline Forbes had ever done.

_"Has he said anything to you?" Stefan had asked her._

_ "No," Elena lied, pacing the room as Stefan sat on her bed._

_ "He's just been acting really strange. When I mention I'm going out hunting he just nods or says something like 'have a good time.' What happened while you were at Duke?"_

_ Elena could feel his eyes on her as she continued to pace. She wasn't a very good liar and she knew that Stefan was picking up on that. She shrugged. "We went digging through all of Isobel's research and found what we were looking for. I noticed he went through a few files, but he never mentioned what he found. Maybe he came across something about Katherine that he didn't like. Maybe she came back and said something to him."_

_ It was silent for a few moments as Elena busied herself in the closet, pretending to examine her clothes for that day's outfit. "You would tell me if something happened between the two of you, right?"_

_ Elena jumped at the sound of his voice and looked towards the door to see him lounging against the threshold. "Yes," she lied, mentally grimacing at the tightness in her voice._

_ He nodded; as much as he wanted to believe her, the slight increase of her heart rate told him that there was a chance she wasn't being completely truthful. "Alright. I'm taking Caroline hunting again. I'll call you later."_

_ Elena nodded slowly and watched as he walked towards her window. Once he was gone, she rested against the doorjamb and softly beat her head against it a few times. He had left without a hug or a kiss which could only mean one thing; that he didn't believe her._

Elena shook her head at the memory and took a deep breath. She hadn't seen much of Stefan since then. He had been too busy helping Caroline. That thought left her feeling a little bitter. Caroline, one of her best friends, would live forever with Stefan at her side. The blonde had only been a vampire for a few weeks and she was already taking up Stefan's free time.

Elena scowled at the empty room and flung the covers from her body. She hated it when her thoughts went down that road. There was no reason for it; she knew better than to think Stefan would leave her for anyone else. Especially not Caroline. If he hated sharing Katherine, he definitely wouldn't be considering Caroline anytime soon.

Elena sighed as, once again, her thoughts had gone too far. She pushed herself to her feet and padded over to the dresser and then the closet. After collecting fresh clothes, she made her way to the bathroom and turned on the water for the shower. As it heated up, she gripped the edge of the counter and stared at the mirror. _At least Katherine had the decency to sample both of us..._ A shiver cascaded down her spine as Damon's words floated through her mind.

Even though she didn't believe Katherine's choice counted after so long, his words did ring true. There were times when she thought about giving into the feelings that she had striving to keep hidden. He had proven that he wasn't a jackass twenty-four/seven; that he could be sweet and gentle. Then he did something to remind of her of all the times he had proven he was a cold hearted killer. Unfortunately, the bad outweighed the good, but she still had that nagging feeling in the back of her mind that being with Damon would be...

She was pulled out her thoughts by a loud knock on the door leading to Jeremy's room. "Elena?"

"What?" she called out, surprised that her voice sounded normal.

"Are you in the shower?"

"No."

"Can I get in there really quick?"

She opened the door and narrowed her eyes at him. "You're not going to steal the shower are you?" It wouldn't be the first time he had done that.

He grinned and shook his head. "Not this time."

"Five minutes," Elena warned and stepped into his room to wait. She sat on his chair in front of the desk and tried to think of a word that would finish the thought from earlier. No matter how hard she thought, she drew a blank. There was only one way she would be able to find out and that was to give in.

The door opened and she simply looked up at Jeremy. The witty comment he had planned on saying died on his tongue at the lost look on his sister's face. "You okay?"

She nodded and stood up. "Just thinking."

He smiled and shook his head at her. "Didn't you hear? That's bad for you."

"Ha ha," she returned dryly and walked into the bathroom.

After a fast shower, Elena dried off and dressed in record time. She let her hair dry naturally and headed downstairs for something to eat before she finished getting ready for the day. The moment she entered the kitchen, she froze at the person grabbing the pitcher of orange juice from the fridge. He turned around and almost dropped the container, giving her a sheepish grin as he held his hands up in mock surrender. "This is not what it looks like," Alaric informed her.

Elena crossed her arms over her chest and tried her best to hide her smile. "I really, really hope that's true."

He grinned and got a second glass out of the cupboard for her. She watched him with fascination as he moved around the kitchen as if he had been living there for years. It was odd, considering he had only been officially seeing Jenna for a few days. Elena nodded her thanks at him as he handed her the glass from across the island. "I called Jenna this morning, from my house, and asked if it would be okay to come over."

"Why?" she asked. Now that the humor of his early morning appearance was over, she began to feel awkward. The last time she had seen him was when he caught her and Damon tightly embraced on the porch.

"To talk to you."

"At the risk of sounding like a child, why?" she repeated, looking at him curiously over the rim of her glass as she took a drink.

"First of all, I would like to start by saying that I know I just started seeing your aunt a few days ago. I understand that it doesn't give me the right to stick my nose where it doesn't belong. That being said, I can't help but think that if Isobel hadn't given you up, I might have raised you as my daughter."

Elena blinked in surprise. She had thought about that a few times, but had never heard the words out loud before. "Okay..."

"Whether we like it or not, I'm going to be in your life in one way or another. I'll either be your teacher, your mother's husband, or you aunt's boyfriend. I know you already have a father..." his voice trailed off as he tipped his head to the side. "Had?"

Elena shrugged, trying to act indifferent. The fact that John was her father still left a sour taste in her mouth. "Either way."

He nodded and cleared his throat before continuing. "I just want you to know that I'm here for you. If you need to talk, I'm here to listen."

Elena set the glass down on the counter and placed her hands flat on the surface. "In other words, you want to know more about what you saw on the porch."

He nodded slowly, trying to decipher her reaction to the recollection of that night. "Things have changed between the two of you."

Elena thought about it for a moment. Maybe talking to Alaric wouldn't be so bad; she needed to talk to someone. She couldn't talk to Bonnie because she would probably do something drastic. Caroline wouldn't be able to keep her mouth shut. Jenna didn't really know what was going on and she wasn't Damon's greatest fan anymore given that she had witnessed him kissing Katherine on the porch. Jeremy didn't want to hear about her romantic problems and discussing this with Stefan was simply out of the question. "Yeah, they have," Elena answered.

"You don't have to talk to me, I just wanted you to know that I'm here if you need me."

"I was telling him that we couldn't be friends because I don't trust my feelings for him anymore. He wants more than I can give him and I don't want to be like Katherine."

His brows furrowed with concern. "So he forced himself on you?"

"No," Elena answered weakly. She sighed heavily, having remembered that Damon wasn't exactly Alaric's favorite person either. "It wasn't like that." _Because he's in love with you_. Isobel's words rang loudly in her ears, making her wince. Elena pressed her lips together tightly and shut her eyes. "Thank you, Mr. Saltzman, but I-"

"You can call me Alaric, please. I hate Mr. Saltzman."

Elena nodded and smiled faintly at him. "It's complicated."

He returned her smile and walked around the island to lay his hand on her shoulder. "Just remember what I said."

"I will."

"Oh, by the way, I talked to Jenna about having a barbeque tomorrow. She invited Mason Lockwood because they went to high school together and he's back in town. You can bring Stefan if you want."

"I'll let him know," she said and watched him walk towards the front door. "Alaric?" she called after him.

"Yeah?" he asked as he turned around to face her.

"You won't tell anyone what you saw, will you?"

He shook his head. "Of course not," he replied and shut the door behind him.

Elena stared at her half empty glass, thinking about what Alaric had said. Sighing, she headed upstairs to call Stefan about the barbeque. After hanging up with him, she decided to invite Caroline as well. She felt a little guilty about not seeing her since she broke up with Matt. It was time to make at least one of things making her guilty go away. When the plans were made, Elena slipped back into the bathroom and finished getting ready for the day.

* * *

"Wear this one," Caroline said as she emerged from Elena's closet, holding up an off the shoulder top.

Elena threw her friend a quizzical glance. "I'm already dressed for the day, Care."

Caroline looked Elena up and down and then frowned. "Really?" she asked quietly.

The brunette couldn't help but smile as her friend started wiggling the shirt back and forth, making it dance, beckoning her to put it on. Elena sighed and swung her feet over the side of the bed before standing up. "Alright, fine."

"Thank you," Caroline sang as Elena grabbed the shirt and put it between her knees as she pulled the one she was wearing over her head. Instead of hanging it back up, she tossed it to the floor in the closet and pulled on the shirt Caroline had picked out.

She turned around and played with her hair. "Better?"

"Much," Caroline said, nodding her approval. The blonde crossed the room and pouted at the empty bag of chips on the nightstand. "Is the food almost ready?"

"I don't think they started cooking yet."

Caroline let out a frustrated growl. "I fed before coming over here, but I'm starving."

"Um..."

"Relax, I'm not going to feed on anyone," she said darkly. The room filled with awkward silence. "Stefan said if I stuffed my face with regular food it would help curb the cravings. He also said alcohol would do the trick."

Elena felt her lips curving into a smile as her friend stared at her with hope. "Let me go see what I can find."

"Thank you!" Caroline chimed before flinging herself onto the bed.

"Have you talked to Stefan today?" Elena asked before opening her door.

Her friend thought for a moment and then shook her head. "Surprisingly, no."

Elena frowned. "Weird. He said he would be here and he clearly he isn't. I should call him."

Caroline grabbed her friend's phone from the nightstand. "I will call your boyfriend while you get me something to snack on."

Elena couldn't help but smile at the fact that Caroline was using her compulsion voice. "I think you're the only vampire who wouldn't even need to compel someone to do their bidding."

Caroline pointed to her as she started scrolling for Stefan's number. "Don't you forget it."

Elena shook her head and closed the door behind her once she stepped into the hallway. As she got to the bottom of the stairs, the doorbell rang. Her smile widened as she grabbed the handle, thinking it was Stefan. Her smile faded instantly at the sight of Damon on the other side of the threshold. He had a white box in his hand baring the Mystic Grill logo and a smile that slowly dissolved as they stared at each other. "What are you doing here?" Elena asked coldly.

"I was invited."

"No you weren't," she argued knowing he was very low on Jenna's list of favorite people.

"Alaric invited me," he insisted and slipped past her to enter the house.

Elena's breath caught in her throat from the momentary contact of their bodies. Damon felt it when her heart skipped a beat and his brows furrowed in curiosity. "He did?" she asked, cursing herself when her voice came out in a higher pitch.

"Mason will be here. It's the perfect opportunity to see if I can get him to slip up."

Elena nodded absently and tore her gaze from his eyes to the box in his hands. "And that?"

He held it up for her. "Peach cobbler. Attempt number one at getting back into Jenna's good graces."

"Good luck with that," she mumbled and sped past him so she could get what she needed for Caroline and get back to the safety of her bedroom.

The adults were in the kitchen as they prepared the food and caught up over drinks. The three of them instantly became quiet as Elena entered followed by Damon. "You made it," Alaric said to Damon, giving Elena an apologetic glance.

She looked away and grabbed another bag of chips before moving to the fridge. "I brought cobbler," she heard him say as she grabbed Jenna's half empty bottle of vodka. It was one that they weren't going to drink tonight judging from the collection on the island. Hiding it behind the bag of chips, she righted herself and began walking out of the kitchen.

"Hold up," came Jenna's stern voice. Elena turned around smiling guiltily from having been caught. Jenna had been kind enough to stop her once they were out of sight from the watchful eyes of the three men in the kitchen. She stretched her arm out for her aunt to take the bottle but Jenna shook her head. "Promise me that the two of you will not drive tonight and I'll pretend I saw nothing."

"Deal. Thanks Jenna," Elena replied and continued to her room, slamming the door roughly behind her.

"Elena?" Caroline asked as the brunette tossed the bag of chips at her friend before tearing the top off of the bottle and raising it to her lips. The liquor burned its way down her throat, providing her momentary comfort. "You okay?" she asked softly once Elena removed the bottle and wiped her lips with the back of her free hand.

"Damon's here."

Caroline looked at her in confusion. Elena winced as she realized Caroline didn't know what was going on between the two of them. Fear seized her at her own stupidity. _What if Caroline says something to Stefan?_ Elena fumbled for something to say and ended up blurting out the first coherent thought that formed in her mind. "I'm just worried that he's going to do something stupid."

"Why would he?" Caroline asked as she opened the bag.

"He said he's here to see if he can get Mason to confess his nature. I don't want Jenna to get involved with this stuff."

Caroline gave her a hard stare. "Seriously? Everyone else in your life knows, why not tell her?" Her eyes narrowed with scrutiny as she studied Elena. "I honestly don't know how Stefan deals with it."

"What?" Elena asked, dumbfounded by the unsubtle subject change.

"Being around you. It's why I broke up with Matt. Every time I heard his heart beating, I wanted nothing more than to sink my fangs into his neck and-"

"Caroline!" Elena shouted as her friend's canine's slid down from her upper gums; her gaze transfixed on Elena's throat.

The blonde shook herself and settled back on the bed. "He says it's hard to be around you sometimes. It's like having an alcoholic work in a winery."

"He hasn't-"

"It can't be easy for you either. Knowing that you'll be all old and wrinkly while Stefan's still this gorgeous creature. You'll never be able to have his children, let alone get married unless-"

"Caroline!" Elena snapped for the second time. "Why are you doing this?"

Her eyes widened with surprise and her fingers came up to lay on her lips. "I'm sorry Elena!" she said, dropping her hand and getting to her feet. "I really didn't mean to say it, it just... I'm thinking out loud again."

"I get that you're upset about having to call it off with Matt, but you need to stop projecting your broken relationship on Stefan and I." Caroline nodded and dropped her gaze to the floor. "What did Stefan have to say?" Elena asked, referring to the phone call.

"He didn't answer," Caroline answered quietly.

Elena nodded and took another drink before offering the rest of the bottle to Caroline. She needed it more than Elena did at the moment. "Thanks for trying."

"He'll show up," Caroline said, trying to lighten the mood.

Elena shrugged, knowing that if Stefan were going to show up, he would already be there. She sat on the bed and rested against the headboard. The pair sat in silence with the exception of Caroline's eating and the occasion laugh from downstairs. It wasn't long before there was a knock at her door followed by Alaric poking his head inside. "Food's ready."

"Thank God!" Caroline exclaimed and leapt to her feet. "I'm starving."

As she bolted from the room, Elena slowly rose and looked at Alaric. "You invited him?"

"That was before we talked," he admitted. "And I thought Stefan would be here."

"Me too," she mumbled before following him downstairs.

Elena sat directly across from Damon, making it very hard for her to ignore him. They were silent all through the meal, but with Jenna and Mason doing most of the talking, no one seemed to notice. Having scarcely touched her food, Elena volunteered to collect the dishes and begin clean up before dessert. As she put her first armful of dishes in the sink, she felt the air shift behind her and a shiver cascaded down her spine. Sure enough, when she turned around, Damon was there; so close, she could feel the heat of him.

"Now isn't the time," she whispered.

"It never is," he returned at the same time Caroline suggested they play Pictionary. No one bothered to ask the two in the kitchen if they wanted to join. "You didn't touch your food."

"Not hungry," she replied only to be betrayed by the growl of her stomach. Damon nodded and stepped back, smirking slightly as he heard her let out the breath she had been holding. "How's 'operation Lockwood' going?" she asked, not wanting to be surrounded with awkward silence.

"I've almost got him where I want him." He brought more dishes to the sink and turned to look at her. "Elena-"

"What were you going to say the other day before Alaric saw us?" she interrupted as she turned to face him as well.

The vulnerability she saw on his face at that moment nearly brought her to tears. "I shouldn't have forced myself on you and I can't tell you how sorry I am, but you make me so crazy sometimes. I thought I was losing you and that is something that I can't do." He kept his voice low and reached for her hand, his thumb rubbing the top of it absently. "These past few days have been hell and if this is what it's going to be like without you, I will do anything you ask of me. If you want us to be friends, I can do that. I can't lose you. You're the only good thing in my life. That includes the past, the present, and hopefully the future." He grabbed her other hand and squeezed both of them. "I will beg, grovel if I have to, for your forgiveness. Elena, please, don't cut me out of your life. Tell me that I haven't lost you forever."

The guilt she had been feeling these last few days intensified at his words. The tears that had been gathering in her eyes escaped, gliding smoothly down her cheeks. "You haven't lost me forever," she whispered and allowed him to pull her into a crushing hug.

Her mind was yelling at her, telling her that she was making a big mistake, but her heart was soaring at the prospect of being in his arms. It felt _right_. Frightened by that, she pulled away and wiped at her eyes. Without saying a word, she fled from the kitchen and up to her room. She paced behind the closed door, faced with the same dilemma as when she had told Damon they couldn't be friends. Now, instead of feeling guilty about how he would react to her rejection, she was feeling guilty about betraying Stefan. She hadn't done anything, but accepting Damon's friendship was bringing her closer to that thin line. She had proven to herself that she couldn't trust her feelings around Damon anymore, the simplest touches sparked the desire within her and she wanted more.

After venting to the empty room, she grabbed her purse and started heading downstairs. Caroline met her on the front porch. "Where are you going?"

"To Stefan's," she said and tried to get around Caroline.

The other girl blocked her every attempt. "Why?"

"Because he's not here and I'm beginning to panic. What if something happened to him?"

"Elena, he's fine."

"How do you know?" Elena snapped and shoved the blonde. Surprised, Caroline stumbled and let Elena pass.

"Hey," Caroline said lightly as she pulled Elena to a stop. "You're upset, let me drive."

Elena nodded and waited for her to retrieve her purse from inside. Elena climbed into the passenger seat of Caroline's car and rested her head against the window. Caroline drove, granting Elena's silent wish for silence. However, the trip was cut short as the car lurched to a stop. "What was that?" Elena asked, bracing herself against the dashboard.

Caroline shook her head and got out of the car. "Flat tire," she responded and pulled out her phone. "I'll call a tow truck."

Elena got out as well, kicking loose rocks while Caroline arranged for someone to come get the car. When she was done, Elena spoke. "We can walk from here. The boarding house isn't that far."

Caroline shook her head and for the first time, Elena felt as if something was off. "We can't leave my car alone out here."

"No one can steal it with a flat tire."

As Elena started walking away, Caroline grabbed her arm and held her firmly in place. "Please, just wait a little bit."

Elena stared at her for a long time before giving in. The two girls waited by the car for over an hour before Elena became restless. "I can't wait anymore Caroline. I'm going to start walking."

Headlights could be seen in the darkness that had recently fallen. "Look, the truck's here and-"

"What part of Stefan might be in trouble did you not grasp?" Elena fired, sick of Caroline trying to stall her. It only made her more anxious and suspicious that Caroline knew exactly what was keeping her boyfriend.

"Please don't leave," she whispered as the truck stopped near them.

"You can handle it," Elena said tightly. At this point, she was beyond caring. If Caroline fed from the truck driver, she could live with it. All that mattered was that Stefan was okay. The scenarios running through her mind over what she might find at the boarding house gave her enough energy to run there. As she got to the door, images of John's blood on her kitchen floor plagued her and it became hard to breathe. Forcing herself to push the images away, she hurried inside. "Stefan?" she shouted.

The mansion was eerily silent; more so than usual. There was a tension in there air that Elena had never felt before. Slowly, she entered the parlor and looked around. "Sorry, Stefan's not here right now," came an extremely familiar voice; _her _voice.

Elena whirled around to see Katherine standing an arms length away from her. Her heart skipped a beat and she gasped in surprise before being consumed with fear. "How do we look exactly alike?" she found herself asking even as Katherine backed her up against the sofa.

Elena flinched as Katherine's arm raised up, expecting pain to follow. Fortunately, Katherine only pressed her index finger into the human's chest and let it trail up to her shoulder. "You're asking the wrong question," the vampire replied. Her eyes flickered to something behind Elena and in the blink of an eye, she was gone.

Elena sucked in a deep breath and just when she thought she would collapse, arms wrapped around her and held her upright. "It's okay, she's gone," came Stefan's voice.

Elena clutched at him and sighed with relief at the fact that he was alive. "What was she doing here?" Elena asked as she pulled away and sat on the sofa.

Stefan sat next to her and filled her in on what he had learned from Katherine. Elena got the distinct impression that he was leaving something out. Elena also filled him in on her suspicion that Katherine got to Caroline. "She keeps saying she came back for me and she threatened you. She told me that if I don't leave you, she's going to do something to you."

"Stefan, you can't believe-"

"Yes, Elena, I can believe her because she was telling the truth."

Elena got to her feet and began to pace for the hundredth time that day. "So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that we should break up." Elena's head jerked his direction as her eyes welled with tears again. "It wouldn't be real, but we would have to keep our relationship a secret. It's the only way I can think of to protect you. Just until I can think of something better," he promised and pulled her into his arms again.

Elena shuddered at the uncomfortable feeling. She was unable to stop herself from comparing how she felt to the safety she had felt in Damon's arms earlier. "Okay," she breathed and they worked out a plan to make it sound believable.

* * *

As Elena entered her house, her movements became sluggish. Reality of what had happened was beginning to settle in. The break up that was intended to be fake had ended up being a real one. As she and Stefan fought about the things Caroline had mentioned earlier, Elena had found herself saying the things that she had been unable to say before. She let it slip that she was jealous of the time he was spending with her friend. As she walked out of the Grill, she had noticed the look of confusion on Stefan's face, but she had also glanced past him to notice the surprise on Damon's face.

She made her way to her bedroom and closed her eyes as the air stirred behind her. She turned to see Stefan staring at her. "What was that about?"

She shook her head. "I think you're right, we should break up."

"I said I didn't want it to be real, but something changed while we were talking."

"We're never going to be able to fool Katherine. Caroline, yes, but not her. Damon was listening and unless we make this real, he's going to be able to tell instantly if it was real or not."

Stefan's eyes narrowed. "Does this have something to do with what happened at Duke? That thing you won't tell me about?"

"Nothing happened at Duke," Elena assured him. It was, after all, the truth; the incident had taken place on her front porch. "I don't want to do this, but I have to."

Stefan hung his head in defeat, knowing there was nothing he could do to change her mind. She was right, if they weren't really broken up, Damon would know instantly and it would blow their cover. "Fine, consider us over."

Before Elena could say anything else, he was gone, leaving her alone with her thoughts. She sank onto the edge of the bed, trying to feel something, but she was numb. When she had called off her friendship with Damon, it hurt, but breaking up with Stefan didn't seem to be having an effect on her. In fact, she felt as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Tired, she pushed the events of the day to the back of her mind and got ready for bed.

The thought of what Damon would do now that the only reason for her resistance was gone left her feeling something she couldn't quite identify.


	5. Kill or be Killed part 1

**a/n: I wrote this before Kill or Be Killed aired and after seeing that episode six wasn't going to be on until the 21st, I decided to post this part and work on my redo of the actual episode later :) hope you guys like the little interlude :)**

**thanks again to everyone who read, reviewed, put me on alerts, and favorited this story. It means a lot to me :)**

**btw, did anyone else notice that the preview for the following episode has Damon and Elena hugging? so excited!**

FIVE

Elena had tossed and turned through the night, waking up in time to see each hour as time slowly passed. By the time the sun had begun to filter through the windows, Elena gave up on attempting to sleep. After a long hot shower followed by a brisk, awkward talk with Jenna about the break up, Elena retreated to her room and settled on listening to music, reading, playing on the computer; anything to distract herself from thinking about the previous day. It wasn't until later that evening that Jeremy pulled her out of her own little world.

"Yes?" she asked tersely, wanting nothing more than to go back to her retreat from reality.

"You have a visitor," he informed her.

Elena rolled her eyes and nodded. She knew who it was before she even went downstairs. She could tell by the way Jeremy spoke and from the change in the atmosphere as she stepped from her room. "What do you want Damon?" she asked, leaning against the banister with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Well hello to you too Elena," he returned, staring at her with amusement. When it was clear she wasn't going to say anything until he answered her question, he inclined his head and obliged her. "I was a little concerned when you didn't call me."

She knew what he meant and she shrugged. "You were there; you heard the whole thing. I figured you would come here on your own like you always do. When you didn't, I decided it was for the best and went to bed."

He studied her for a moment through narrowed eyes. "You didn't sleep though."

"Nope."

He tipped his head to the side and smiled briefly. "But you haven't been crying either. That's a good sign. Stefan isn't worth the tears."

At the mention of his brother's name, Elena's eyes dropped to the ground and she shifted her weight. "What are you doing here?" she asked again, lightly this time.

"I wanted to see how you were doing. As your friend, I'm here for you."

Elena looked back up to meet his eyes. A slight shiver coursed through her body at his vague double meaning. Her head shook and her eyes closed. "Well, thank you, but I don't really want company," she replied and turned with the intention to go back to her room.

He moved forward and wrapped his fingers around her wrist, holding her in place. "I wasn't exactly asking if you wanted company."

He let go of her and she slowly turned to face him, gasping a little at how close he actually was. Elena knew from past experiences that if Damon wanted something, a "no" was out of the question. With a sigh, she nodded. "I don't want to go out."

"Fine, then we'll stay in."

"Damon-"

"I'll order pizza and we'll watch movies, gossip, play video games; I don't care, but you're not getting rid of me until the wee hours of the morning." He said this with a smirk, one that was infectious, causing Elena's lips to twitch in response.

As an idea formed, she grinned, taking Damon by surprise. He knew that look; he didn't like that look. She nodded once and looked over her shoulder towards the second story landing. "Ask Jenna for permission. Without your compulsion. If she agrees, you can stay." She saw the way his jaw ticked and smiled more. "It's what a friend would do. It would mean a lot to me," she added.

He mulled it over for a moment and then shrugged. "I like challenges."

Elena nodded and headed upstairs. She knocked gently on Jenna's door and went inside at the other woman's insistence. "What's up?" Jenna asked as she rummaged through her closet.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going on a date with Alaric. I know I probably shouldn't leave you alone tonight. You need girls around you after a break up, but..."

Elena nodded, shifting uncomfortably again at the mention of Stefan. "You've had this planned already, I know. It's your first official date, I'm not going to make you miss it."

Jenna nodded her appreciation before staring at her niece. "What did you come in here for?"

Elena couldn't help but smile and tipped her head towards the door. "Damon is downstairs."

Jenna straightened at that, giving her an irritated look. "And?"

"He wants to stay in with me tonight, but I told him he would have to ask you first."

Elena watched as her aunt's head shook automatically. "How do you feel about him?"

Knowing Damon was listening to their every word, Elena chose hers carefully. "We've developed this weird friendship. Yeah, he's not the easiest person to deal with, but he can be nice when he wants to be."

"When he wants to be," Jenna pointed out. "So did that kiss I witnessed have anything to do with you and Stefan?"

Elena's jaw dropped and her head shook slowly. "No..." she answered. "It only made the relationship I have with Damon a little rocky. We're working on it though."

"So what do you want me to say to Damon?" Jenna asked, clearly not happy about the situation, but she knew her niece was friends with him; for whatever reason.

"I'll go along with whatever you decide," Elena assured her.

Jenna nodded and pulled on a dress, having Elena zip it up before she went downstairs to talk to Damon. Elena listened to their conversation through the crack in the door. "What exactly are your intentions with Elena?"

"I don't know yet," Damon replied smoothly. "Our relationship is determined by her. It always has been," he added in a more serious voice.

"Alaric and I are going out, Jeremy will be out as well, leaving you and Elena alone. She's going through an extremely emotional time. Can I trust you not to take advantage of her?"

"I will never do anything Elena doesn't want me to."

They were silent before Jenna spoke again. "If anything happens, you're a dead man Salvatore," said pointedly.

Damon's chuckle could be heard all the way up to where Elena was eavesdropping. "Message received, loud and clear."

Elena backed up as she heard Jenna ascending the stairs. "You're going to be okay?" she asked the brunette.

"Yes. Thank you Jenna," Elena said and gave her aunt a quick hug before returning downstairs to Damon. "Thank you," she said to him as they made their way to the kitchen.

"I like your aunt. She's feisty, just like you," he commented as Elena got a glass from the cupboard for herself. When he sensed that she wasn't going to speak, he changed the subject. "Any movie suggestions?"

"No romance, nothing dirty, and absolutely no horror. I can't sleep as it is," she informed him and took a drink of the water she had filled the glass with.

"That doesn't leave me with much," Damon muttered.

Jeremy and Jenna came down the stairs then. "Alright, we're on our way out. Behave," Jenna demanded, looking straight at Damon before she waved and the pair left the house.

"Back to what you want to watch," Damon said the moment the car pulled out of the driveway.

Elena had her back resting against the sink, her head turned to look out the window into the backyard. Once she realized he was staring at her, she moved her head and returned his stare. "What?" she asked, vaguely recalling that he had said something.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

There was something about the way he was looking at her that let her know she had been right. If the break up hadn't been real, Damon would have seen right through them. He was suspicious of her now due to the lack of tears. She shrugged and let out a sigh. "I don't know."

His eyes narrowed a fraction. "You don't look too heartbroken. I guess you weren't as in love with my brother as you thought." The smugness in his voice was followed by a wince as her attention was turned towards the window again.

After a minute or so of silence, Elena spoke. "I guess it hasn't hit me yet."

For the first time, Elena didn't jump at the fact that Damon had used his speed to stand at her side. His hip rested against the counter so he could face her; his hand gently stroked the length of her spine. Elena just stood there, letting him touch her, enjoying the comfort. "I hope it never does. One, I absolutely detest weepy women and two, Stefan is no reason for tears. You're much better off without him."

Elena tilted her head enough to look at him. "How do you figure?"

"Stefan's all about following the rules. You have your moments, but they've become few and far between. Look," he demanded and turned her so that they were facing each other. He reached out and cupped her jaw with the hand that had been caressing her. "There is this fiery passion in you. I know because I've seen it. When you're with him, I know that he tried his best to quell that fire. Now that he's gone, you can let it blaze the way it was meant to."

They stared at each for a long time. Damon listened to her breathing as it became shallower by the second. As tears gathered in her eyes, Elena spoke in a broken voice. "It wasn't supposed to be real."

Damon went still as he watched two tears gliding down either side of her cheeks. "Come again?" he asked, but it was too late. Elena had already lost control of her sobs. Damon pulled her into his arms and let her cry on his chest.

Fortunately, Elena wasn't one of those girls that needed to cry for days before she felt better. "The break up," she mumbled against his shirt. "It was supposed to be fake."

Damon didn't know how to react to that piece of information. "Why would you stage a break up?"

Elena pulled away and straightened her clothes before wiping the tears from her face. "Katherine told him that if I wouldn't leave him, she would simply remove me from the equation."

Damon's eyes narrowed again. "What?" he asked slowly, getting the impression that he was missing something.

Elena sighed and told him everything; how she and Stefan had suspected Caroline of doing Katherine's bidding in keeping Elena away from Stefan and how Katherine had been at the boarding house all day. "When I got there I called for him, but _she_ responded instead. It was eerie to see her right in front of me. I know I saw the picture but..." her voice trailed off and she shook her head. "Anyway, I'm going to freshen up. I'll leave the pizza up to you; no mushrooms," she warned.

"Movie?" he asked, still trying to process everything.

"Pick something. Surprise me," she demanded and headed up to her room.

As Elena closed the door, she rested her back against it and closed her eyes. It was strange how yesterday she had been afraid to be around Damon and today she was looking forward to it. Unable to understand what that meant, she pushed off of the door and went to the bathroom. A groan escaped her lips at her reflection. Her hair was a mess and there was a small streak of eyeliner on both sides of her face. Quickly, she redid her make up and brushed her teeth. While running a brush through her hair, she debated on changing her outfit. After realizing that Damon would only poke fun at her for the wardrobe change, she decided against it and headed back down to the living room.

As she entered the room, Damon was pressing the button on the DVD player that made the tray take the disk into the machine. She glanced at the stand where the television rested to see what movie case he had set down and raised one of her brows in curiosity at Damon. "X-men? Really?"

He pretended to look offended as he moved to stand in front of the couch, facing her as she stood behind it. "You're the one who owns it. I was only following your orders; no romance, horror, or nudity."

Elena shook her head and let a small smile grace her lips. "Out of the hundreds of movies we have, you choose X-men."

Damon stared at her, bewildered by her ability to find this strange. "I repeat, you're the one that owns it."

"Actually, it's Jeremy's."

"We can watch something else," he suggested, wondering why she was so awed over his choice of movie.

"No," she said a little too quickly. She took a deep breath and shook her head. "No, it's fine, I just...that's not what I thought you were going to pick."

"Is it because of my bad boy reputation or the fact that I'm a vampire?"

The small smile turned into a smirk. "The fact that it's a comic."

"Hey, it's an action flick with semi-decent acting," he said defensively as he flopped down onto the couch.

The movie was on the menu screen at this point. Elena decided it was time to sit as well. She sat on the opposite side of the couch, suddenly feeling aware that the house was empty. "I'm just surprised, that's all."

"You said 'surprise me'. Good to know I succeeded," he replied and smirked, frowning slightly at how far away she had chosen to sit. "Are you up for watching the trilogy?"

"You want to?"

His brow rose. "I don't have anywhere else to be. Do you?"

Elena shrugged and leaned against the arm of the couch. "Trilogy it is."

Half an hour into the movie, the doorbell rang, indicating that the pizza had arrived. Elena paused the movie while Damon paid the delivery man. Elena watched in astonishment as Damon handed him real money as opposed to compelling the man. She kept watching him as he went to the kitchen to get both of them something to drink before bringing everything to the living room. It wasn't until he sat down again that he looked at her. "What?" he asked.

Elena felt her cheeks heat up and she cleared her throat. Of course he had known she had been staring. It wasn't as if she had really made any attempt to hide it. "You're starting to freak me out a bit."

Damon could only stare at her. "How?"

"You're being normal."

As soon as the words left her lips, she knew what he was going to do. Sure enough, he surged forward so that he was practically laying on top of her, pressing her back against the arm of the couch. "That can easily be changed," he breathed as he ran a finger along her cheek bone.

Elena's breathing became shallow and after a minute of being lost in the feel of his body flush against hers, she put her hands on his chest and gently pushed up. He took the hint and sat back. "I didn't say it was a bad thing, it's just going to take some getting used to it."

"I wouldn't get used to it," he informed her as he reached towards the coffee table to extract a slice of pizza for himself. "I'm only doing this until you're out of your post break up depression. Then I am going to be my usual charming self," he said and winked at her while taking a bite. "This is fantastic by the way," he added with his mouth full.

Elena shook her head and reached forward to get her own slice. Damon hit play on the remote and the pair sat with their eyes transfixed on the television. Neither one of them dared to comment on the fact that they were sitting side by side instead of on opposite ends of the couch. When the first movie was over, Elena stretched and watched as Damon got up to clear away the empty pizza box. Once everything was cleaned up, he put in the second movie and returned to the middle cushion of the couch. Elena smiled, but said nothing.

Once the third movie began, Elena began to feel tired. At some point, neither one could recall how, Elena wound up lying on her side with her head in Damon's lap. She fought to stay awake, but her eyes refused to remain open. It didn't help that one of Damon's hands was playing with her hair, twisting it in his fingers, while the other hand traced patterns along the length of her side. It was lulling her into the sleep that had eluded her the previous night. "Thank you," she murmured.

"For?"

"For being here; for being my friend." Elena didn't stay awake long enough to hear his response; if he even had one.

Damon knew the instant she had fallen asleep. Her breathing had become deep and even as had her heart beat. She sighed softly and adjusted her body to be more comfortable. At the risk of getting too comfortable himself, he used the remotes to shut off the electronics and then gathered Elena into his arms. Her arms automatically went around his neck as he carried her bridal style to her room. He lay her down on top of the covers before turning them down and repositioning her so he was able to tuck her in. He smoothed the hair away from her face and smiled down at her sleeping form. As he stood up, her hand shot out and rested on his forearm.

He looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to say something, but her hand slid from his skin. Damon smiled lightly and leaned in again, daring to press his lips against the smooth skin of her cheek. With that, he headed back downstairs to leave through the front door instead of her window.

Elena's eyes remained closed even though she knew he was gone. Her fingers went to the side of her face where she could still feel his lips against her flesh. A smile formed on her lips and she felt a rush of joy replace all the negative feelings inside of her. That small action allowed her to drift off into a deep, sound sleep. One that was filled with pleasant dreams about a dark haired man with steel blue eyes.

Elena was roused out of her deep sleep by the sound of a soft sigh as the mattress behind her sank underneath someone else's weight. Her body went still for a moment as an arm looped around her waist and the person settled in behind her. The smile she had gone to bed with returned and she let her body relax and scoot closer to the form behind her. Elena moved her hand to the forearm that held her securely in place and let it slide down to lace her fingers with the other person's hand. It was then that she froze and she began to panic. The hand she was holding sported manicured fingernails.

Elena scrambled as best she could to get off of the bed and placed her hand over her erratically beating heart at the sight of Caroline lounging on her side. "Who did you think I was?" the blonde asked, instantly regretting it the moment Elena's jaw clenched. "Oh God, I'm sorry," Caroline added and got to her feet. "I should have known that."

"It's okay, Caroline," Elena managed with a breathy voice. Elena was feeling a bit relieved that her friend thought Elena had assumed Stefan was in her bed. If she knew Elena had thought it was Damon... "What are you doing here?" Elena asked, shoving that thought aside.

"I came to see how you were doing," she said truthfully. "I wanted to come by yesterday, but I wasn't sure if you wanted to see me. I'm still not."

Elena locked eyes with Caroline. "Did Katherine tell you to keep me away from Stefan the other day?"

Caroline nodded, having expecting Elena to ask this at some point. "She said that she killed me once, she would have no problem doing it again."

"So everything you said that night, that was because Katherine told you to?"

"Not everything," Caroline mumbled. "Most of it was me and Matt. I'm sorry, Elena. I honestly didn't think it would affect you. I was a horrible friend. I knew you were worried about Stefan and I kept you from him, but it was for your safety too."

"She was there when I got there. I saw her."

Caroline's eyes widened significantly. "And she let you live?"

Elena nodded, but didn't comment; it was something she didn't want to think about. She knew for a fact that Katherine could have killed her that night. "Look, I haven't exactly been the best of friends with you either. I wasn't there for you when I heard you broke up with Matt."

"It's alright, you've been a little distracted."

Elena's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Caroline took a deep breath and leaned against the dresser. "I know it's hard to remember, but I can hear people clearly even if they're not in the same room. At the barbeque, you and Damon were in the kitchen while the rest of us were in the living room. I heard the two of you."

Elena cursed herself for not having realized that earlier. "Oh."

"Stefan asked me a few times if I noticed anything going on between the two of you. I never did until now." Before Elena could say anything, Caroline pointed at her. "By the way, I wasn't trying to steal your boyfriend. He was just helping me out with the change."

Elena gave a small smile. "I don't know where that came from, but I'm sorry I felt that way. I know he's just helping you."

"I think we should call a truce. You forgive me for eavesdropping and doing what Katherine threatened me to do and I'll forgive you for thinking I would steal your man. That way, we can be going back to being best friends and go out tonight to celebrate our single status."

"I don't think 'celebrate' is the right word," Elena mumbled even though she knew Caroline wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"Use whatever word you want, we're still going out," Caroline stated, giving her friend a dazzling smile.

"Alright," Elena started and met Caroline in the middle of the room. "I forgive you."

"And I you," the blonde returned and pulled her friend into a tight hug. "As best friends again, I have a favor to ask."

"Uh oh," Elena teased as she pulled away to sit on her bed.

"Would you be terribly opposed to having a roommate for a little while?"

Under different circumstances Elena would have said no, but with Caroline's newborn stage still thirsty and hard to control, she felt weary. "Why?"

"Because things with my mom are getting weird. She keeps saying there's something different about me. You know how we fight all the time? Well it's getting harder and harder to keep my control around her. I need a break. I would go to Bonnie's, but she's not exactly speaking to me at the moment."

Elena believed her every word, but there was something else Caroline wasn't saying. When it dawned on her, Elena nodded. "Katherine's been invited into my house," she stated and judging from Caroline's reaction, that was the real reason she wanted to stay.

"That bitch is everywhere," she muttered in exasperation.

"Tell me about it."

"Never mind then," Caroline said with a sigh. "Anyway, I'll be back at around six. Wear something dressy and be prepared to have fun."

"See you then."

"Oh, and Elena?" Caroline started, turning back to look at the brunette. "You're going to have to tell me what's going on between you and Damon."

Before Elena could say there was nothing to tell, Caroline vanished. With a heavy sigh, Elena let her head fall onto the pillow with a thud. A smile took hold of her lips as she felt the ghost of Damon's lips against her cheek.


	6. Kill or be Killed part 2

**a/n: So Kill or be Killed was surprisingly hard to write or I would have had it up sooner. Hopefully this makes up for the fact that there wasn't a new episode this week :)**

SIX

She had known the day was going to be bad when Caroline had forced her out of bed this morning. While getting dressed, she couldn't shake that eerie sensation. Elena's biggest fear at the time had been how she would react to seeing Stefan for the first time and how he would react to seeing her. As she worked on getting the park prepped for the actual grand opening, she could feel eyes on her back. Every time she turned around she found one of the Salvatore's looking away; sometimes both. Thanks to Caroline, neither of them had come near her and with the blonde's hatred of silence, Elena was able to focus on something other than Stefan and Damon.

Right now, they were all she could think about.

The sight before her had her heart racing and fury pumping through her veins. Damon and Stefan were lying in the middle of the old Lockwood slave quarters; their bodies riddled with bullet holes. Since Sheriff Forbes was down here, she knew they had vervain coursing through their system. If she wanted to keep them alive, she was going to have to do something herself. She looked around and began to feel defeated. There was no way she could go up against three armed police officers. But since Caroline didn't want to expose herself, she had no other choice.

"I can't let you kill them," Elena heard herself say, looking directly at the Sheriff.

"Elena, these are cold blooded killers." There was still surprise in the Sheriff's demeanor that Elena had interrupted her from shooting the Salvatore's.

"No, they're not," Elena insisted although her argument was weak when it came to Damon. She swallowed hard as she tried not to think about them. Tears began to slide down her cheeks as she forced herself to keep her eyes focused on anything but the two of them.

"I'm sorry, Elena," Sheriff Forbes said before turning her gun towards the brothers.

"No!" Elena shouted.

Before she could do anything drastic, the sound of metal hitting metal echoed throughout the room. "What was that?" one of the deputies asked, looking around frantically.

Elena felt a wave of relief hit her as the familiar sensation of vampiric speed tousled her hair. Caroline had entered the room. She fed from one deputy and sped away as the other unloaded his clip and killed the man. She scurried around the room and sank her fangs into the second man's throat. As he fell to the ground in a lifeless heap, Caroline retreated to the shadows and stared at her mother. She didn't want to expose herself, but Elena was more important to her than the relationship she had with her mother. "Hi Mom," she said quietly, slowly stepping forward to reveal herself.

The Sheriff's hands trembled and the gun fell to the floor with a thud. Elena wasted no time in moving towards the Salvatore's. She sat between them and let her eyes jump between the two. For a second, she couldn't decide on which one she wanted to help first. Damon decided for her. "Get the bullets out of him," he demanded in a wheezing voice.

"What about you?" she asked.

"I'll be fine," he assured her and began crawling to the nearest fallen deputy with what little strength he had left.

Elena heard the sigh of satisfaction as Damon's fangs found flesh. With that, she turned her attention to Stefan. It scared her, how still he was. For a moment, she truly thought the Sheriff had killed him. That changed as she reached for the first bullet hole. He hissed in pain and his eyes sprang open. "Sorry," she mumbled and concentrated on digging the bullets from his skin.

By the time she was done, Elena was trembling from head to toe. "Thanks," Stefan returned as he forced himself into a sitting position.

Elena placed a hand on his back and began to move it up and down out of habit. Damon crawled over to them and sat on his knees. "You need deputy blood," he said.

"I'm fine."

"He's right," Caroline said. "Now would be a good time to break your-"

"I'll be fine in a minute," he snapped, making Elena flinch. He had his gaze fixed to the ground and the muscles in his back were bunched beneath Elena's hand.

Damon looked to Elena and their gazes locked. She had come to rescue them without having thought of the consequences for herself. He didn't want to think about what he would do if she had died on his behalf. Elena could only stare back at him, trying not to think about how she would feel if she hadn't gotten here on time.

Their thoughts were interrupted by Caroline's voice as she spoke to her mother. "You won't tell anyone, right?" Elena looked past Damon to see the Sheriff's reaction.

Damon let his gaze linger on Elena for a moment or two before his gaze flickered to Caroline. When it was clear that Liz wasn't going to answer, Damon got to his feet and pinned her to the wall in the time it took Elena to blink. "She can't tell anyone if she's dead."

"You can't kill her!" Caroline shrieked.

"Damon!" Stefan shouted as he looked up for the first time.

Elena looked at him in horror as his hands wrapped around the Sheriff's throat. "Damon, don't," she pleaded. "Don't kill her."

Time seemed to pass in slow motion as Damon kept his hold on Liz. Finally, he withdrew his hand and took half a step back. "Relax, no one is killing anyone," he said.

Elena shut her eyes to hide the tears of relief. When she opened them again, she found Damon staring at her. She looked away and sought out Caroline. "What are we going to do now?" she asked.

"We're going to the boarding house," Damon answered, looking at Caroline. "You're going home to get some of your mother's things and then you'll join us."

"I'm not-" Liz started, but stopped when Damon whirled around to look at her.

"You're going to stay with us until the vervain is out of your system and then I'm going to compel you to forget about all of this. That's the alternative to having your throat ripped out. There are no other options."

Liz looked away and he shrugged. "Fine."

"Elena, will you come with me?" Caroline asked from her spot in the corner.

Elena looked at Stefan who had gone back to staring at the ground and then looked back up to Damon. He nodded, his eyes telling her that he would take care of his brother and Liz. "Let's go," Elena said as she got to her feet.

"She hates me," Caroline said the moment they were outside. She began wiping furiously at the blood on her chin. Tears of anger streaked down her face.

"No she doesn't."

"Elena-"

"She's your mother," Elena interrupted. "She may not understand, but she still loves you."

Caroline snorted and tossed her hair. "She never loved me in the first place." Before Elena could say anything in protest, Caroline turned to face her. "Let's go," she said forcefully. Elena took the hint and dropped the subject.

* * *

With a suitcase in the backseat, the two girls began their journey to the boarding house. Elena was behind the wheel knowing that Caroline wasn't in the right frame of mind to drive. She parked in her normal spot outside the mansion and walked in front of her friend to the front door. Instead of ringing the doorbell or knocking, Elena opened the massive door and stepped aside for Caroline to pass. Stefan entered the room as Elena shut the door. They nodded at each other awkwardly before he motioned for the girls to follow him to the basement.

"Sorry it took so long," Caroline said. "I didn't know how much to pack."

"She'll only be here for a few days. If she needs anything else, I'll let you know."

"Thanks," she replied and walked slightly ahead.

Caroline stopped abruptly right before the cell where the Sheriff was talking to Damon. Elena could hear her words and she winced. "Keep Caroline away from me."

"Why? She's your daughter, Liz," Damon said, trying to reason with her.

"No she's not," Liz replied. "Not anymore."

There was a pause before Elena heard Damon say, "You have no idea how wrong you are."

Caroline put the suitcase down and took off towards the stairs leading back to the main floor. Elena looked at Stefan who gave her a nod and watched her run after her friend. Elena found Caroline sitting on one of the couches in the parlor, clutching a pillow in her arms. "Told you," she mumbled as Elena came to sit on the coffee table in front of her.

Elena didn't want to say something she knew would be a lie. Instead, she reached out and placed her hand on Caroline's forearm. "In a few days, she'll forget about what you are."

"It doesn't matter," Caroline breathed. "I heard her say it."

Elena sighed and rubbed Caroline's skin before giving her a small smile. "Come on, I'll take you home."

Caroline's eyes widened in fright. "I can't go home."

"Why not?" Elena asked softly, already knowing the answer.

"I'm scared."

Elena moved from the table to the couch next to Caroline. "Of?"

"Katherine," she replied bitterly. Elena wrapped her arms around Caroline's shoulders and brought her close. The blonde laid her head on her friend's chest and closed her eyes as she listened the calming beat of her heart. "She was at my house last night after I dropped you off."

"What did she want?"

"To ask me questions about you and Stefan. She said that if I didn't report back to her daily she would..." her voice cracked and Elena felt her tears as they dropped onto her arm. With her free hand, she stroked Caroline's back. "She said she would go after Matt if I didn't follow through."

Elena's body tensed for a moment as anger coursed through her. "It's okay, we'll figure something out," she whispered and held her friend tight.

It wasn't long before Caroline was asleep. With some difficulty, Elena managed to get up and arrange her friend to be stretched out across the couch. After locating a blanket, she draped it over the girl and tucked her in. Smiling, she moved quietly from the room. She stopped at the steps leading up from the parlor and thought about where to go. Once her decision was made, she moved quickly towards Stefan's room. The door was slightly open, giving her the view of Stefan sitting on the edge of his bed. What caught her attention was the blood bag cradled delicately in his hands. Without knocking, Elena slipped inside and shut the door behind her. "What are you doing?" she asked, trying to keep her voice level.

There was a long moment of silence before he answered her, his eyes glued to the floor by his feet. "Katherine ingested a tiny bit of vervain every day until she built up a tolerance to it."

Elena blinked as she absorbed his words. "You can't."

At that, he lifted his head and let their gazes lock. "I almost died tonight."

"I know that," she breathed.

He got to his feet and looked at the bag in his hands. "I need to do this. I need to be able to drink human blood. I'm no match for Katherine if I continue to eat animal blood. I can't protect you if I don't try." The hardness of his face softened as he realized Elena's eyes were shining with unshed tears. He set the bag of blood down on his bed and walked over to her, pulling her into his arms. "Once we get Katherine out of the way, things can go back to normal," he whispered against her hair.

Elena stiffened and pulled back, giving him a look of confusion. "What?"

He looked at her, equally confused. "The break up. I know it's real so that the others believe us, but once Katherine's gone, we can be together again."

Elena pulled herself completely out of his grasp and wrapped her arms around herself. "Look, Caroline might have said all of those things because Katherine told her to because she wanted us to fight, but that doesn't make them any less true."

He shook his head slowly, not wanting to believe her. "Elena-"

"Think about, Stefan," she demanded, dropping her arms down to her sides. "In five years, I'm going to start looking too old for you. In ten years, people are definitely going to notice the age difference. People are going to think that I'm robbing the cradle." She paused for a breath, letting it out slowly. "How much longer are you going to be able to stay here before people start noticing that you haven't aged a day since you arrived?" she asked softly, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

"They haven't-"

"And we'd never be able to get married; not for real. You're dead, Stefan. You can't get a marriage license and it would be wrong to compel someone into signing the necessary papers. I never thought about children, but I would like it to be an option."

He stared at her, listening to her heart as it beat rapidly in her chest. "So you don't want anything to do with me?"

She bit her bottom lip knowing that there was one question she could ask that would make the decision for her. With a heavy sigh, she asked it. "If I wasn't terminally ill, if I wasn't dying from a horrible accident, if it were completely my choice...would you turn me?" She had spoken quietly, but she knew he heard her. His hesitation spoke volumes and she closed her eyes, feeling the tears stream out from behind closed lids. "I love you, Stefan, I do, but if you loved me as much as you claim to, you would have said yes. If I'm not good enough for eternity, why should I waste my time?"

She turned to leave, but he blurred forward to block her. "I can't pass along this curse, Elena. I won't. I wouldn't wish this on anyone. Especially not you."

"That should be for me to decide," she argued.

He stared at her, wanting to change his answer, but he couldn't do it. He shook his head and stepped back. "I love you, but I don't want this life for you."

Elena nodded and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Then we're through," she breathed and made her way for the door again.

As her fingers rested on the handle, he spoke again. "Damon's a vampire too."

Elena's fingers curled around the handle hard enough that she could feel the beat of her heart at her fingertips. She wanted to turn and yell at him, but she knew that was what he wanted. Instead, she opened the door slowly and turned her head so she could see him from the corner of her eyes. "Drink the blood to get your strength. You're no good to Katherine if you're dead," she said coldly and closed the door behind her.

Forcing herself not to run, Elena made her way downstairs again. She made sure that Caroline was still sleeping before going to the front door. She knew it wasn't safe to walk, but she was in no condition to drive. Last time she had driven while being this angry, she had crashed her car and would have died if Damon hadn't been there to save her. Shuddering, she slipped her hands in her pockets and began to walk in the direction of her house.

"What the hell are you doing?" Damon asked, suddenly appearing in front of her.

Elena jumped violently as she walked into him. She stepped back and hit him in the chest as a response. "Damon!" she hissed and placed her hand over her heart.

He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at her with amusement in his eyes as he waited for her answer. "Elena?"

"I'm going home," she said once her heart beat had settled down.

"It's a long walk to your house from here. Might I add that it's an even longer walk when there are people out there who want you gone?" She met his gaze for a moment and then looked away. His amusement died as he reached out to cup her jaw, lifting her face up. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she lied, wrenching herself out of his vice like grip, surprised when he actually let her.

"You're obviously upset. What did Saint Stefan say this time?"

Elena shook her head and turned her back to him. "Will you take me home?" she asked rather than answering his question. If he was going to make her relive that fight, she wanted to do it in the comfort of her own room.

Damon nodded and silently led her to his car. He watched her from the corner of his eyes as she rested her head against the window and took deep, even breaths to keep herself calm. She had her feet drawn up on the seat and her arms were around them. When he pulled up to her house, she nearly bolted from the car before he had put it in park. He followed her up to her bedroom and shut the door behind him. He could hear Jenna and Jeremy sleeping soundly in the other rooms. "Elena?" he breathed after she had paced the room a dozen times.

Somehow he had managed to understand her as she explained through sobs. Towards the end of her explanation, she was unable to hold herself up. Damon took her in his arms and moved to lay her down on top of her comforter. "If he loved me, he would want to turn me right?" she asked once she had calmed down.

"Do _you_ want to turn?" he questioned.

"I never thought about it until Isobel brought it up," she admitted and went still as she felt Damon wince. Just mentioning her birth mother's name brought back the words that neither one of them wanted to talk about just yet. "It would just be nice to know that it's an option. He flat out said he would never turn anyone. That tells me there's no future for us so why should I be with him?"

"Vampires turn people for three reasons; boredom, revenge, and love. If Stefan wanted you around-"

"He has the original, he doesn't need the carbon copy anymore," Elena said bitterly.

Damon adjusted so that he was lying on his side, facing her and propping his head up on one arm. He didn't have anything to say to her about that. It had been a mistake on both their parts when they came to town. They both wanted to see if Elena could be like Katherine. It was a blessing in disguise that she was not. He lifted his hand with the intention of reaching out to touch her, but decided against it at the last second. Instead, he let it rest in front of his body. "Don't think about them. It's over. The faster your realize that, the better you'll feel."

Elena nodded and rolled onto her back. She let out another heavy sigh and closed her eyes. He thought she was going to drift off to sleep, but was startled when he heard her voice. "You kissed me the other night."

"I-" he stopped and narrowed his eyes at her. "You were supposed to be asleep."

Elena couldn't help but smile, even though it was faint, he could see it. "Yeah, well, I wasn't." She turned her head to the side in order to look at him and raised her brow. "I'm waiting."

The corners of his lips quirked up into a lazy smirk and he shook his head. "For?" he asked coyly.

"An explanation," she said and maneuvered her way onto her stomach. She propped herself up on her forearms and stared absently at the headboard.

He reached up and let his fingers trail up and down her arm, starting at her shoulder and ending at her elbow. Elena forced herself to keep her breathing normal, but she couldn't stop her heart from skipping a beat. "If you were awake, why didn't you stop me?" he asked quietly.

"My eyes were closed," she replied. "I didn't see it coming."

He smirked at the underlying challenge in her words. Not one to back down, Damon leaned in, keeping his eyes firmly locked with hers. A wave of desire coursed through him at the sight of her lips parting in anticipation. His fingers pushed her sleeve out of the way and he closed the gap between them. Her heart fluttered as his lips touched the smooth skin of her shoulder. "You saw that coming," he murmured against her skin.

Elena bit her bottom lip and let her eyes close part way as he placed another kiss against her flesh. As he moved his mouth up to kiss the curve of her shoulder, she swallowed hard and pulled away. Quickly, she got to her feet and wrapped her arms over her chest, shaking her head slightly. "I can't do this."

Damon got to his feet and raked a hand through his hair. He could see she was one wrong move away from a breakdown and he feared that his actions might have done it. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

Elena could only stare open mouthed at him, waiting for his apology to sink in. "I can't be like Katherine," she stated, repeating what she had said to Caroline.

"Elena-" he started and took a step forward.

She held out her hands and stepped back. Damon took the hint and stopped advancing. "I just broke up with Stefan. I can't even fathom starting a relationship; much less one with his brother."

"I didn't say anything about a relationship."

He cringed at his choice of words. "So, what, you just want to fool around?"

"No, Elena, that's not what I meant."

Elena didn't want to hear his explanations. "Look, I've had enough arguing for one day. Can you just go?"

Instead, he stalked across the room stopping only when she was trapped between his body and the wall next to the bathroom door. He had one hand flat on the wall on either side of her head, completely boxing her in. "There _is_ something between us. You've already admitted that."

Elena glared at him. "A few days ago, you said you were content with being friends and now you're back to being pushy."

"You don't have the boyfriend excuse anymore," he reminded her.

He smirked in satisfaction as she huffed, signaling the he was right and she knew it. "It doesn't seem right to rush off and start something with you or anyone else for that matter."

"Fine, we'll take it slow."

Shock went through Elena's body making it taunt; eyes wide in surprise. After a few seconds of staring at him, her rigidness dissolved into laughter. Confused, Damon stepped back and glared at her. "I didn't think slow was in your vocabulary," she managed to say through her giggles.

Damon felt his chest constrict. She was laughing at him. "Forget I said anything."

Elena looked up and saw the raw hurt on his face an instant before he caught her looking and put his guard up. As he turned towards the window, Elena rushed forward and grabbed his arm. "I didn't mean to laugh," she said, despite the smile that still plastered her face. "I'm so exhausted that it's either laugh or cry; which would you prefer?"

"Why don't I let you get some sleep?" he countered, trying not to be angry with her. It was true, she had been through a lot. Even if he had actually been the one dying.

Elena nodded and forced her smile to fade until it was barely there. She tightened her grip on his forearm for a moment and then slid her hand down to rest in his. "I'm not ready for anything more than friendship. You said that you would do anything as long as I didn't cut you out of my life. I just dumped my first love and I need all the support from my friends that I can get. I need you Damon, but I need you as a friend."

He stared down at her and felt his anger fade into the background. She needed him. Him. Not Stefan; _him_. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and inclined his head. "If you need me, then I'll be here for you."

Elena felt tears brimming in her eyes indicating that the hysterical laughter phase of her exhaustion was over. Damon pulled her into a crushing hug and before Elena realized what was happening, she felt the softness of her mattress beneath her. She looked at Damon as he stayed bent over her. She reached up and touched his face, cupping it in her hand. "As my friend, will you do me a favor?" she asked as sweetly as she could.

Damon narrowed his eyes. "I'm not going to like this, am I?"

She shrugged, the corners of her mouth going upwards in a smirk. "Help Stefan get control over his blood lust. He needs someone to help him through it and it can't be me. For me?"

He continued to narrow his eyes at her and then sighed before nodding. "For you."

"Thank you," she breathed and let her hand drop to her side.

Damon helped get under the comforter and leaned over her again. He wanted to kiss her, but was able to refrain from doing so. "Goodnight Elena."

"Goodnight Damon," she replied and watched as he walked over to her window. "Thank you again. For everything you did with Caroline's mom. And for bringing me home."

"You're welcome." He grinned at her. "Sleep, Elena, you need it."

She smiled at him and closed her eyes, instantly falling asleep.


	7. Plan B

**a/n: You guys are amazing! Thank you so much for reading/reviewing/alerting/favoriting this :) This chapter was pretty hard to write mostly because I thought the episode was perfect as is. That's why it's a little shorter than I would have liked. Hopefully it lives up to your expectations :) I can't wait for Masquerade! I already have big plans for it. If all goes well, I might divide it into two parts :)**

SEVEN

Elena clutched at Jeremy, holding onto him tight enough that he struggled to breathe. Yet, Jeremy returned her hold in the same manner. They stood in the hallway of the hospital, not caring that people stared as they passed by or glared when they had to walk around them. Elena's ocean of tears had soaked the shoulder of Jeremy's shirt, but he didn't seem to mind. She closed her eyes, only to be rewarded with the sight of Jenna plunging the knife into her abdomen. Elena shuddered and Jeremy tightened his arms. "We'll get her back, Elena. She'll pay for this," Jeremy assured her.

Elena pulled back at that. "No, Jeremy. You're not going anywhere near her!" she hissed.

"Elena, if she's going to come after me, there's nothing we can do to stop it. Look at Jenna," he said and immediately regretted it as a fresh round of tears welled up in his sister's eyes. "I have the ring; I'll be safe. We _need_ to go after her before anything else happens."

Elena shook her head. "I don't want you to be-"

"I'm already involved!" he hissed quietly and held up his hand to show her the ring. "I knew about this stuff back when Anna..." his voice trailed off and he ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm already involved Elena. Quit treating me like a helpless child and let me do whatever it is I need to do to kill her."

She stared at him, trying not to lash out at him like she wanted to. For the first time, he wasn't blaming her for anything. He was angry about Jenna and wanted to get revenge by striking Katherine. Elena sighed and gave one sharp nod. "Just promise me that you'll keep your head clear. Don't let anger control you."

He nodded and pulled her in for another hug. "I know." He tightened his arms to give her a sense of security, but Elena didn't feel secure.

Just as she started to wish for the security she felt in Damon's arms, Alaric came up to the siblings and cleared his throat. They broke apart, but remained close as they looked at their former teacher. "How is she?" Elena asked in a hoarse voice.

"She's fine. The doctors said she missed all of the important stuff and that she'll make a full recovery. She's resting now and they won't let her have any visitors."

Elena's eyes widened in fright. "We can't just leave her here. What if Katherine-"

Alaric cut her off. "She already got her point across. I don't think she'll be coming by."

"You don't know that for sure," she stated.

"You're right, I don't," he added and sighed. He fished his keys from his pocket and handed them to Elena. "You and your brother go home. I will stay here and make sure that Katherine doesn't get anywhere near Jenna." He gave them a nod that indicated he had all the necessary tools to be a bodyguard.

Knowing that there wasn't anything else for her to do there, Elena nodded and led Jeremy out to the parking lot. "Are you sure you're going to be okay to drive?" Jeremy asked.

Elena stared at him and nodded. "You don't even have your permit. You really think I'm going to let you drive?"

"I didn't say I wanted to drive, I just asked if you were going to be okay. The last thing I need is for you to zone out and wreck the car."

Elena scowled as she remembered the last time she had wrecked her car. "I'll be fine," she said through gritted teeth.

As she pulled out of the parking lot, Jeremy began to fiddle with the radio. "So does this mean you have to come back to pick him up?"

Elena rolled her eyes. "Obviously."

"Do you think it's safe at home?"

Elena whipped her head in his direction. "Thank you, Jeremy. I really needed to think about that."

His eyes widened and he moved closer to the door. "Hey, it's a fair question. No offense, but if she's there, you won't be much of a threat."

"Neither will you," Elena countered.

His hand automatically went to touch the ring on his finger and he looked at the console between him and his sister. "I'm just saying," he muttered.

She sighed and relaxed her grip on the steering wheel. "I'm scared too," she whispered.

"Maybe we could go to the-"

"No," Elena said quickly without letting him finish.

"You didn't-"

"You were going to say boarding house weren't you?" She saw him nod from the corner of her eye. "Okay then, we're not going there."

"I know you and Stefan aren't together anymore, but he and Damon can help keep us safe."

At the mention of Stefan, Elena's mind was flooded with the events of the afternoon. She could recall in vivid detail the screams that came from Stefan's throat as he landed in the vervain infested water. Those few moments of panic came back to her as Elena remembered how helpless she had been to save him. She swallowed hard trying not to think of what could have happened if Caroline hadn't shown up. She could still feel Stefan's lips on her hand as he took the blood that she offered so that he could heal. The entire day had been a nightmare and it wasn't over yet.

"Elena!" Jeremy screamed, pulling her out of her thoughts and back into reality.

Elena slammed on the breaks and groaned as her head bounced off the headrest once they came to a screeching halt. She had stopped inches before hitting the bumper of the car in front of her. She took large breaths as she tried to calm her nerves. "Sorry."

"Whatever, just get us home in one piece."

Elena noticed that his fingers were digging into the seat of the car as well as the dashboard that he had used to brace himself for the impact that never came. Jeremy dropped the subject they had been talking about in order to let Elena focus on driving. They made it home without any injuries. Jeremy bolted from the vehicle the moment it was parked and waited for his sister on the porch. Elena unlocked the door and they both peered around the threshold; neither of them willing to be the first one to go inside.

Elena sighed and looked up at Jeremy. "This is ridiculous. We can't be afraid of our own home," she stated and forced her body to carry her inside.

"I think we should burn it down and rebuild it. That way she has to be invited in again," Jeremy replied softly as he followed her and closed the door.

They stopped in the foyer, not wanting to go any further. "We should stay in the living room," she said, choosing to ignore his comment.

"What do you want to do?"

"If you want to play video games, go ahead. Just stay in the living room."

Jeremy nodded and they headed into the living room. He sat on one end of the couch while Elena sat on the other. She used the arm as a backrest and drew her legs up. She wrapped her arms around her legs and put her head down on top of her knees. She watched as Jeremy played a car racing game, but after a few minutes, it began to make her a little dizzy. She closed her eyes and tried not to think about anything. It worked for a little while; just sitting there and listening to the sounds of the video game, but the noise faded into the background as Elena's thoughts, once again, went back to what happened that afternoon.

_"What are you doing?" she asked as she approached Stefan who was leaning over an old well._

_ He turned to her and frowned. "Bonnie said the moonstone is in the well."_

_ Elena leaned over and felt her eyes widen at how deep the well was. "You don't seriously think that you can get out of there, do you?"_

_ He stared at her as he had been staring at her all day. Somewhere between anger and longing. This was the first time either of them had spoken since their official break up. "I'll be fine," he assured her and vaulted himself over the side._

_ Elena heard the splash of water when he landed, followed by a groan of pain and surprise. "Stefan?" she called down, peering over the edge._

_ "Vervain!" he managed to yell up at her before his throat closed up._

Elena shuddered and forced her eyes open. She sucked in a sharp breath and waited until her heart rate returned to normal. Before it could get to that point, the fine hairs on the back of her neck stood up, letting her know that something wasn't right. It was then that she noticed the video game was on pause and Jeremy wasn't sitting on the opposite side of the couch. Elena practically leapt off of the couch and parted her lips to yell for her brother, but stopped as she heard the sound of the fridge door opening. She felt a little relieved, but refused to believe that all was well until she saw it with her own eyes. Carefully, she made her way to the kitchen and stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of Damon rummaging through the contents of the fridge.

"You have _nothing_ to eat in here," he complained without looking up.

His words fell on deaf ears. "What the hell are you doing here? Where's Jeremy?" she asked, feeling a slight panic course through her system.

Damon pulled away from the fridge and turned to face her. "Relax, Elena. Jeremy is safe." He paused and tilted his head towards the ceiling. "He's softly snoring in his bed as we speak."

Elena turned to look at the TV just to make sure that the screen said PAUSE. "But the video game-"

"I happen to like that game," he interrupted, flashing her one of his signature grins before leaning back against the counter.

"That only answered one of my questions."

"Jeremy called me," he said, answering her previous question.

"Why?" she breathed.

He shrugged, something that was beginning to annoy her. "He said something about wanting sleep, but didn't want to leave you alone."

"Oh," was all she said. Elena moved to stand in front of the island and leaned back against it, standing right in front of Damon. "How long have you been here?"

"A few hours. You were asleep when I came in. Jeremy went upstairs and I continued playing his game." Damon returned to rifling through the fridge. "I was serious before, there really is nothing to eat."

Elena looked around, trying to figure out what was different about the kitchen. Her eyes widened in realization that the dinner Jenna had been preparing was gone. "Did you clean up in here?"

"Someone had to," he grumbled. "The food was going bad and there was-" he stopped before completing the sentence.

Elena nodded and swallowed over the lump in her throat as she tried not to think of Jenna anymore. "Are you really hungry or are you eating out of boredom?" she asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

Damon froze for a long moment before slowly pulling back to look at her with a raised brow. He had a feeling he knew what she meant, but he wanted her to say it. "Why? Do you have a stash of cookies I don't know about? The good kind that you hide from everyone else."

Elena couldn't hide the smile that briefly took hold of her lips. "No, there's no stash of cookies."

"Damn, I could really go for some."

Instead of replying, Elena yawned. She wasn't sure what she meant by asking the question in the first place and she was glad he had turned it into a joke. "How's Stefan?" she asked.

"He's brooding more than usual," he informed her as he leaned against the counter again to study her.

"I meant with the blood."

"He's a little on edge, but I think you're to thank with that."

"Well, I couldn't just let him die," she argued, feeling the tears beginning to collect in her eyes. "You don't think it will effect him like last time do you?"

Damon stared at her for what seemed like forever before he shook his head. "Not this time. He's been drinking enough every day that he should have a decent amount of tolerance built up already."

Elena frowned. "It's only been three days."

"He's fine, Elena."

Elena studied him with narrowed eyes. She sighed and let her body relax once more. He wouldn't lie to her; she knew that much. If something was wrong with Stefan, he would tell her. After last time, they both knew better than to ignore the warning signs. "Okay," she whispered after awhile.

Damon's head cocked to the side at the strain in her voice. He heard her heart flutter in her chest and was taken aback as she lifted her face so he could see the single tear gliding over her cheek. He didn't hesitate to cross the room and gather her into his arms. "It's okay Elena. Everything will be fine," he breathed and let is hand glide up and down the length of her spine.

She pulled away to look at him, astonished that he would lie even if it was to comfort her. "How can you say that? Jenna's in the hospital because she _stabbed herself_. Katherine compelled her over the phone, Damon. Stefan and I broke up like she wanted and she's still attacking my family." At that last word, she broke down into sobs. "She got what she wanted; Stefan's free. Why did she do this?"

Without thinking twice about it, Elena leaned in and used Damon to hold herself up. His arms went around her, but she sensed the hesitation in him. Damon closed his eyes and cursed himself over and over again. His actions had brought her pain; something he swore he would never do. He sighed heavily knowing that he had to tell her the truth. Even if she decided to withdraw her friendship, she had to know. "It was my fault," he breathed.

Elena heard him, but remained still as she let the words fully settle in. Reluctant to pull away, she did so slowly and looked at him in confusion. "How?"

Damon stepped back and raked a hand through his hair. He didn't get nervous; even as a human, he had always been confident. Right now, he was a nervous wreck. "Bonnie did her witch mojo on Mason and knew that the moonstone was in the well. We had the information that we needed from him, I didn't see any point in keeping him alive."

"You killed him?" Elena whispered in shock. She had guessed it, but to actually hear the words confirming her thoughts...

"If I had let him go back to _her_ he would have come after you. He would have done something to retaliate for what I did." He paused to give her a menacing look and ignored the fear that made her heart accelerate.

"I would rather have Mason come after me than Katherine," Elena said quietly.

He nodded absently, knowing Elena would fight with everything she had. Against Mason, she might have had a chance. His eyes met her and she saw the guilt and shame deep within the ice blue. "He said they were in love," he bit out. "He said that she loved him; that they would be together forever." He gave a short laugh and mussed his hair again. "That was exactly the same bullshit lie she told me."

Elena noticed that his eyes, though they were staring at her, they seemed to be staring _through_ her. She wanted to step forward to comfort him, but she was frozen. She wasn't sure how he would react and the last thing either of them needed was for him to lash out at her on accident. "Damon, I'm-"

His eyes snapped into focus and locked with hers as he shook his head sharply. "I called her." Elena saw the guilt shining in his eyes.

As those words sank in, Elena felt her legs begin to tremble.

"Stefan tried to stop me, but I had to tell that bitch that I was one step ahead of her. That I found the moonstone and took out her pawn. I didn't even think about the consequences, Elena. I made her angry. I'm the reason Jenna got hurt."

Elena leaned back to rest against the counter in order to keep herself on her feet. She heard what he said and knew she should be angry at him, but she didn't feel anything. She stared at him, forcing herself not to cry as she tried to sort out her feelings. Damon grew anxious as he watched her face remain emotionless. There wasn't even a single tear gathering in her eyes.

He surged forward and took her hands into his, holding them up against his chest. "Elena, say something," he demanded. "Yell at me, scream if you want to. I did this. It _is _my fault."

Elena lifted her eyes to his and slowly shook her head. She should be angry with him for provoking Katherine. He should have known the consequences, but she could see how much he regretted the action. The regret was what kept her from being angry. Damon didn't regret anything. He didn't apologize for his actions. The fact that he was here, begging for her forgiveness because he wanted to make things right, made it very clear that he cared about her more than she thought. Maybe there was some truth to Isobel's words after all.

She shook her head with more definition. "I'm not mad at you."

His eyes narrowed as he searched her face. "Why not?" he asked. He had been unprepared for her answer.

"Katherine has been getting to Jenna since she came to town. She's been invited in Damon," she stated. "It was only a matter of time before she did something."

He looked at her with disbelief. "_I _pushed Katherine to-"

"I don't care," she interrupted, surprising him again. "Yeah, you should have known better than to brag to Katherine about killing Mason, but she would have found out eventually. I know that you couldn't let him live because they would have done something to retaliate." Elena took in a deep breath and felt her face soften as she looked at him. "I'll be mad at you in the morning if that will make you feel better. Right now, I want to sleep." It was the truth, her body was beyond exhausted.

He studied her until he was sure that she wasn't going to change her mind and blow up at him. When it was clear that she did indeed want sleep, he inclined his head and motioned for her to lead the way. They stopped briefly in the living room so he could shut off the television. As they got to the top of the stairs, Elena nodded towards Jeremy's door. "He's fine," Damon assured her.

Elena nodded. "I know, but I still want to check on him. I'll be right in," she said.

Damon's eyes widened at that. She was full of surprises tonight. He simply nodded and headed towards her bedroom, shutting the door softly behind him. Elena waited until she was alone before letting the smile she had been hiding take hold of her lips. She shook her head and opened Jeremy's door. She smiled a little more at the sight of her brother sprawled across the bed. He didn't look very comfortable with his head hanging off the side. Careful not to wake him, Elena arranged her brother and tucked the comforter around him. She sat by his side and brushed the hair out of his face. Elena knew it was a little strange to watch her brother sleep, but she couldn't help it. After touching the ring on his finger, she got to her feet. She leaned down and kissed his forehead before crossing the room to the bathroom.

After slipping inside, she took a minute to compose herself. She processed everything that Damon had said, but she still couldn't muster up any anger. Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Elena tore herself away from the counter and entered her room. She stilled at the sight of Damon under the covers; his shoes poking out from the underneath the foot of her bed. A smirk tugged at her lips as she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" he countered, giving her a serious look.

Elena sighed and rolled her eyes. Not in the mood to argue with him about this either, she made her way across the room and crawled into bed next to him. "Will you be here in the morning?"

He grinned at that and shook his head. "Not if you're going to be mad at me." Elena laughed, unable to help herself. Reveling in the sound of her laugh, Damon reached out and pulled her to him. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay awake so you can sleep."

"You're not going to watch me are you?" she asked, looking up at him with narrowed eyes.

"Why? Do you do anything interesting?"

Elena shook her head and turned her attention to getting comfortable. Damon was lying flat on his back allowing Elena to curl her body around him easily. He had one arm around her, pulling her close. Her head rested on his chest near his shoulder as her arm draped around his waist. He linked his hands together and rested them on her ribs. "Thank you," she breathed as she closed her eyes.

"For?"

"For coming over when Jeremy called."

He shrugged as much as he could. "Honestly, I was going to come over whether he called or not. I was worried about you."

She nodded, her cheek rubbing against the softness of his shirt. She opened her eyes and smiled, knowing what she was going to do next. Quickly, she pushed herself up and pressed her lips against his cheek. Before he even had time to process the action, she was already back in her original position in his arms. Elena said nothing as she let herself relax and almost instantly fell asleep in the safety of his arms; that smile still plastered on her face.

Just when he thought he had her figured out, she surprised him again. That brief kiss combined with the smile on her lips gave him hope. All Damon had to do was tap into his patience and wait. It wouldn't be long before she was his. He was sure of it.


	8. The Masquerade

**a/n: Thanks again you guys! You're amazing! The Masquerade was packed with action so hopefully I did the show justice with this rewrite. I didn't really change that much, just added some things here and there. :) any questions, let me know.**

**And a special thank you to BadBoysAreBest for giving me some input for this chapter :)**

EIGHT

Elena woke up the following morning and stared at the empty half of the bed at her side. She frowned and then laughed at herself. She was actually disappointed that Damon was gone. Since when did she miss Damon Salvatore? That thought got her out of bed and into the shower. After using up all the hot water, Elena stood in front of the mirror with the towel wrapped around her body. She stared at her reflection and sighed. Tonight was the Masquerade charity event at the Lockwood mansion. She had spent her time there yesterday to help set it up and now, she wasn't even sure was going to go. Stefan was supposed to be her date and she didn't feel right about asking Damon to escort her.

Mind made up, she sighed again and headed for her bedroom. The moment she closed the door, she felt the air stir and her body froze. There he was, staring at her from the entrance to her bedroom. He was carrying a tray with a plate of food and a glass of water to go with it. Elena knew that she should turn around and go straight back into the bathroom, but she couldn't get her feet to move. Instead, she just stood there and let his steel blue eyes sweep up and down her body.

"I thought you left?" she managed to get out.

"Nope."

The sound of his voice got her out of her trance. She straightened and narrowed her eyes at him. "Could you give me some privacy?" He grinned and she shook her head. Muttering a string of curses under her breath, she stalked across the room and pushed him out of it. He continued to grin even as she slammed the door in his face.

As quickly as she could, Elena pulled on some clothes and then opened her door again. "Didn't you get my note?" he asked, setting the tray down on the foot of her bed.

"What note?" she asked.

He smirked, walked over to the side of the bed he had been sleeping on, and picked up the folded piece of paper that rested on the pillow. "This note."

She scowled at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "Obviously not," she stated and then shifted her weight. "I know you heard the shower running."

His eyes sparkled with mischief as he nodded. "Why do you think I came up here?"

Elena closed her eyes and shook her head. It was useless to go any farther with that conversation. It would only lead to things that she didn't want to think about; couldn't afford to think about. She dropped the subject and sat on the bed. "Thanks for breakfast."

He nodded and flopped down beside her, stretching out so that his feet were propped up against the headboard; his arms folded behind his head. "Since you didn't read what I took the time out to write, I'll have to tell you." He paused as she rolled her eyes at him. "I took Alaric's car back to him and he went home. Jenna is safe and she should be ready to come home this afternoon. And, this is the most important part Elena, so listen carefully."

She swallowed the bit of food she had been chewing and drank some water. "I'm listening."

"You are _not_ going to the Masquerade." His eyes were burning into hers and she swore he was trying to compel her even though she was wearing the necklace.

She shrugged and loaded her fork back up again. "I wasn't planning on going anyway."

His face softened; clearly she had surprised him. He had been prepared to argue until the cows came home. "You weren't?"

She shook her head. "Stefan was supposed to be my date," she said quietly. "Going with Caroline would only make us both miserable so we decided against it." Elena wasn't sure if Caroline was going or not, but she hadn't mentioned anything either way.

Damon nodded and fought the urge to tell her that he would have been more than happy to escort her, but she could _not_ be there. Especially if they went ahead with their plans for tonight. So far, it looked like Elena wasn't going to be a problem after all. With that, he stood up and smiled at her. "Well, I think I'm done here."

"You're leaving?"

Damon forced himself not to react to that. She wanted him to stay. The one day he couldn't be with her, she wanted him. Just another reason to kill Katherine. "Liz and Carol both asked me to help with the event," he lied, hating himself for doing so.

She nodded and set her fork down onto her plate. He noticed that she only ate a small amount, but didn't comment. "Then you should get going."

He carried the tray back down to the kitchen as she followed silently behind him and they ran into Jeremy. "Hey, are you leaving?" he asked Damon.

"Yes."

"Can you give me a ride?"

Elena narrowed her eyes at both of them; something was up. She could tell from the way Damon had glanced at her uneasily when Jeremy asked for a ride and the way Jeremy avoided looking at her altogether. "Sure," he answered and dug in his jeans for his keys. He tossed them to Jeremy. "Start the car, I'll be outside in a minute."

Elena watched her brother until she heard the front door shut. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," he replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"You don't like Jeremy." Damon said nothing as he brought the tray to the sink and dumped the uneaten food into the disposal. When it was clear he wasn't going to say anything, she let it go. "Fine, just tell him to be back sometime in the early afternoon so we can go get Jenna."

He nodded and gave her one of his charming smiles. He hated leaving her alone in the house, but if Katherine was going to kill her, she would have done so already; whether or not he was there. "Call me if you need anything."

She nodded. "Have fun." She waited until the front door opened to add, "And next time, knock!" She heard his laughter as the door closed. The house fell silent and she wrapped her arms around herself. Before she finished cleaning the dishes on the tray, she turned on the radio and blasted it, just to fill the silence in hopes that she wouldn't feel scared.

* * *

For three hours, Elena sat like a statue on the couch. She alternated between watching movies and reading books. Around noon she realized that her phone had not vibrated once. Even on a day her friends were busy, they were always texting each other. Today of all days, she expected something from Caroline. This led her to believe that her suspicions of Damon and Jeremy were justified. Wanting nothing more than to be proven wrong, she picked up her phone and called her brother.

"Hey, Elena."

"Jeremy, where are you?" she asked in a serious tone. Her focus was on the background noise. She wanted to know exactly where he was.

"I'm at a friends. Damon gave me your message. I'll be home in a little bit."

"Damon dropped you off, do you need a ride home?"

"No," he answered quickly. "My friend will give me a ride home," he assured her.

Just as Elena began to believe him, she heard Bonnie's voice. "Hang up, Jeremy." Elena wasn't sure if that's what her friend had said, but it sounded close enough.

"Elena, I have to go. I'll be home soon," he said and the line went dead.

Holding the phone in her hands, she let her anger slowly rise. When she got to the point where she couldn't hold it back any longer, she got to her feet and grabbed her purse by the front door. With that, she drove as fast as she could towards the boarding house. She wasn't sure why that was her destination, but she just _knew_. For some reason, she was more mad at Damon for aiding her brother than she was at Jeremy for lying. As she entered the boarding house without knocking, she took a deep breath, fully prepared to yell. Her voice caught in her throat at the sight of her friends crowded around a table in one of the rooms.

Alaric had his weapons spread out along the table. Caroline and Bonnie were off to the side watching as Jeremy, Stefan, and Damon played with some of the contraptions. "What the hell is going on?" she asked, her voice coming out in a squeak.

Apparently, no one had noticed her intrusion until she spoke. All six heads snapped towards her and twelve eyes went wide in surprise, shock, and a little guilt. Her eyes locked with Damon's from across the room as she took a few steps closer. "Elena-" Jeremy started, but stopped when he didn't know what else to say.

The moment her eyes left Damon's to look at her brother, Damon used the distraction to rush across the room. He picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. She kicked and beat at his back yelling, "Put me down!" as he carried her to the basement. "Damon! Put. Me. _Down!_" she shouted.

"As you wish," he answered and dropped her onto the cot in the cell.

Her chest heaved in anger as she stared up at him, pushing the hair out of her face. "So that's why you've all been avoiding me?" she asked, getting to her feet.

"Yes."

"What exactly are you doing?"

"We're going to kill Katherine," he said in matter-of-fact tone.

Her jaw dropped and her hands balled into fists at her sides. "And you don't think I would have liked to take part in this?"

He shrugged. "You said you weren't going to the Masquerade."

"Because I didn't have a date!" she argued. "I'm going," she stated and tried to move around him.

He blocked her every move until she backed away with a sigh of frustration. "No, you're not."

"How is this fair?" she questioned. "Bonnie's a witch, three of you are vampires, and two of you are humans with special rings. How dare you bring Jeremy into this!" she added and reached up to shove him.

He grabbed her wrists before she touched him; his eyes boring into hers. "You're not going because you're the one with the evil twin that we're trying to do away with," he said in a deep, even voice. "We only get one shot at taking her out and one second is all it takes for us to lose the upper hand. That one second that we take to hesitate, wondering if we're about to stake the right girl..." he shook his head and let go of her. "That's the difference between her death and ours."

Elena stared at him, fuming silently. She knew he was right; it was best if she stayed away that way there would be no confusion on which "Elena" was about to be killed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

He grinned, "Because we knew this would be your reaction."

She pouted for a second and then glared at him. "Fine," she muttered and tried to leave the room, but he blocked her again.

"Not so fast, Sweetheart."

"What?" she growled.

"You expect me to believe that you're just going to sit back and not try to take matters into your own hands?"

She let the anger recede and let the smallest of smiles grace her lips. "Don't you trust me?"

His face hardened. "Not after last time," he said flatly.

The smile disappeared from her lips. He had her there. She had promised that she would stay in the car while he and Alaric rescued Stefan from Fredrick, but she had gone after them anyway. "But-"

"Elena," he started as he stepped forward until she was stuck between him and the rough stone wall. "If I have to rip that necklace from your throat and compel you to stay the hell away, I will." Her eyes went wide as she detected the seriousness in his threat. "And I am not above locking you in here to make sure you comply."

"I-"

"I speak for everyone when I say that you have to stay away. You know I'm right. Don't argue with me," he said, moving his face closer to hers.

Elena hesitated, but reluctantly nodded. "Fine, I'll get Jenna from the hospital and make sure she's okay. But I want some of those weapons. Just in case."

He shook his head. "Alaric will be coming with you to make sure you stay put."

She glared at him, but his proximity made it hard for her to argue. "Fine," she breathed again. "I won't go to the Masquerade."

"Thank you," he returned and stepped away. As he turned around, he smirked as she inhaled deeply.

"Damon?" she called out, making him stop at the threshold of the cell.

He turned back to her and raised a brow. "Yes, Elena?"

She swallowed thickly as she lost herself in the depth of his piercing blue eyes. Slowly, her head shook back and forth. "N-never mind," she breathed. She wasn't sure what she was going to say, but whatever it was, she decided against it.

He nodded and waited for her to catch up to him. "Alaric will follow you to your house after we're done here."

"And what exactly is your plan?" she asked.

He looked at her over his shoulder and shook his head lightly. "The less you know, the better."

Elena felt a bit of her anger return and ignored him as they continued upstairs. All eyes were on them as they entered the room. Stefan looked the most uneasy as he looked back and forth between his brother and Elena. Alaric cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Elena, are you ready to go? I'm done giving the tutorials."

"Yeah, let's go," she replied quietly and turned towards the door.

Damon grabbed her arm before she moved and she looked up at him in surprise. "I meant what I said Elena. Stay put."

"I will," she assured him, although she wasn't quite sure she would be able to keep her word.

He nodded and watched as she and Alaric left the house. "I should have locked her in the basement," he mumbled as he walked up to the four people who were starting at him with large, questioning eyes. "What?" he growled.

Stefan was staring at him with guarded emotions. Damon smirked, knowing that it bothered his younger brother that Elena hadn't said one word to him. "What about locking my sister in the basement?" Jeremy asked, drawing him away from his staring match with Stefan.

"I told her she had to stay at her house for her own good," he answered. "You all know her well enough to know that she's not going to stay."

All four of them shook their heads. "She's definitely not going to stay at the house," Caroline agreed. "Maybe for a little while, but if we get rid of Katherine fast enough, it won't matter if Elena shows up to the event or not."

Damon gave her an astonished look. "Kill Katherine faster," he said, mulling the idea over. "Now that's the right attitude." With that, the group started setting their plan in motion.

* * *

Elena sat on the opposite side of the living room, staring at Alaric. Jenna was sleeping on the sofa between them. He was watching Elena like a hawk. Every time she excused herself from the room, she came back to find him in the kitchen or somewhere in the house with a clear view to the front door. As the night wore on, Elena became more and more restless. She was angry at Damon for demanding that she stay home and she was angry at herself for going over to the boarding house in the first place. Damon had been right; she should have let them keep this to themselves. Now that he had banned her from the Masquerade, the rebel in her wanted nothing more than to go.

When the movie they had been watching ended, Elena stood up and faked a yawn. "I think I'll just go to bed."

Alaric looked at her with doubt. "It's only eight."

She shrugged. "It's not like I have anything better to do."

He stared at her for a few moments and then nodded, wearily accepting her explanation. "I'll stay here tonight. At least until Jeremy gets back."

Elena smiled as he looked at Jenna. "You're welcome to stay Mr. Saltzman. I know Jenna would like that." He smiled up at her and she smirked. "And I know Damon told you to stay anyway."

He smirked at that. "Night, Elena."

"Night," she said and headed to her bedroom. On her way to the stairs, she saw her keys sitting on the ledge by the door. She looked around and saw that Alaric wasn't in her line of sight. Quietly, she grabbed her keys and slipped out the front door. She ran towards her car and sped off towards the Lockwood's.

The place was packed. The minute Elena stepped out of her car, she felt silly without a mask and in her normal clothes while everyone was dressed up. Shoving that feeling aside, she made her way through the crowd until she spotted Jeremy. Her eyes were everywhere, making sure Damon or Stefan didn't see her. She knew Damon would make good on his threat and lock her in the basement next time they had to do something like this. Hell, he would do it now just to show her he could.

Elena waited behind some of the shrubbery as Jeremy approached. When he was within arm's reach, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him off of his path. "Elena? What the- I thought you were at home?" he hissed.

"I was, but I couldn't wait any longer. I needed to know what was going on. I hate being left out of things."

Bonnie approached them and shook her head at Elena. "She's in the room with Damon and Stefan," she informed the siblings.

Elena's eyes went wide with alarm. "And that's a good thing?"

Bonnie nodded. "I put a spell on one of the rooms, a spell like the one at the tomb. The three of them are trapped and they won't be getting out until she's dead."

The moment Bonnie said that last word, Elena's body went rigid as pain exploded through her back. She hunched forward and started crying out for the force of it as the pain spread throughout her body. "Elena!" both Bonnie and Jeremy yelled at the same time.

They grabbed her arms and tired to hold her still. "She's bleeding!" Jeremy hissed.

Bonnie lifted up her shirt. There was blood, but no wound. "I don't-"

Elena screamed again as pain shot up her arm and blood began to stain her shirt as well. "It hurts!" she cried.

"Jeremy, go upstairs and tell them not to kill Katherine!" Bonnie ordered and then Jeremy was running faster than he ever had before.

He ran into everyone he passed, knocking them aside, spilling drinks, and getting a lot of curses thrown in his direction, but nothing stopped him. He made it to the room just as Damon raised a stake over Katherine's heart. "Don't do it! Damon, don't kill her!" he shouted, stopping before he went inside the barrier.

Both Salvatore's froze, but didn't look at him. Jeremy scanned Katherine's body and felt sick as he saw the wounds on her matched the non existent ones on his sister. "Gilbert?" Damon asked through gritted teeth.

"You're killing her."

"That's the idea."

"Elena. You're killing Elena." At that, Katherine smirked and pushed the brothers off of her.

"Elena's here?" Stefan asked Jeremy.

He nodded and Damon shook his head. "Told you," he muttered. "What does he mean, Katherine?" he asked her.

"It's a simple spell really. Think of it as an insurance policy."

"Go make sure she's okay," Stefan demanded, looking at Jeremy.

He nodded and made his way down to where Bonnie cradled Elena in her lap. "I got there just in time. Katherine said she had a spell on her. I'm guessing everything Katherine feels, Elena feels."

Bonnie's head jerked up at that. "There's another witch here. Jer, take Elena," she demanded and gently passed her to her brother. "I'll be back."

Jeremy shrugged out of his suit jacket and draped it over Elena's shoulders. "Are you okay?"

"It hurts, Jer."

He could only nod and pull her closer. His silence was due to his thoughts going down a dark road. He couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if Elena had done as Damon said and stayed home. He knew the answer; he would have come home and found her dead. He was just beginning to accept the fact that his parents weren't coming back, he couldn't imagine how horrible life would be if he lost his sister too. He shuddered and tightened his arms around her, silently thanking her stubborn, rebellious nature.

* * *

After a few minutes, Elena was finally able to move. Since then, she had been standing at the top of a hill that overlooked the Lockwood's backyard on one side and a pond on the other. She still had Jeremy's jacket, but she had no idea where her brother had gone. Once Bonnie came back to tell them it was over, that Katherine was gone for good, Elena had withdrawn to the hill. She jumped at the sound of someone clearing their throat and turned to see Damon standing beside her.

Neither one of them spoke for awhile. They just stood there in silence. Elena turned to face him and looked up at him. "Is it true? Katherine's gone?"

He nodded, his face an unreadable mask. "Are you okay?"

She inclined her head once. "It still hurts, but there's no marks; just blood."

He reached out and cupped her face with one hand. Looking at her was making his stomach twist in knots. He had been thinking about the what-ifs. What if he had locked her in the basement? Knowing that he had been so close to losing her made him want to take her into his arms and never let her go. "I'm glad you decided to ignore me and come to the Masquerade," he whispered, stroking her skin with the pad of his thumb.

"Me too," she breathed and tipped her head back to look at him.

A comfortable silence fell between them as they stared at each other. The depths of his piercing blue eyes seemed to swallow her, holding her captive, and she felt herself leaning in. Damon noticed her advancement and met her halfway, letting his lips descend lightly onto hers. He stilled, waiting for her next move. Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long before her lips parted and her tongue darted out to touch his lips. He parted his instantly, letting his tongue sweep across hers. He reached out with his other hand and gently laid it on her hip before pulling her closer.

Forgetting about the pain in her arm, Elena raised it to rest her hand on Damon's shoulder. The movement caused her to wince and Damon immediately withdrew, looking down at her with concern. "Did I hurt you?" he asked.

She shook her head once and placed a small kiss into his palm before stepping away from his touch. "You didn't hurt me Damon," she replied in a soft voice. His lips parted to say something, but his words died in his throat at the sight of Elena licking her lips. "I should go home and check on Jenna," she added, her voice drawing him from his fantasies.

He nodded absently. "Do you need a ride?" he found himself asking even though he had things to take care of.

"I should be fine," she answered and hoped that it wouldn't be too hard to drive when her body hurt the way it did.

"Do you-" he started, but stopped himself and swallowed hard.

Her eyes went wide once she realized what he had been about to offer. "I don't think your blood will help. I'm not physically injured."

He inclined his head towards her. "Call me if you need anything."

"I will," she said firmly. "Night Damon," she added and began walking towards her car.

The closer Elena got to where she had parked, the wider the smile on her face became. For once, she didn't feel guilty or any of the usual negative emotions she usually got after kissing Damon. All she felt was a sense of longing. Had it not been for her arm, she was sure she wouldn't have stopped there. Then again, for all she knew, this feeling could have been left over adrenaline from the fact that she had almost died tonight. It was on her mind and she knew it was on everyone else's, but she knew for a fact that if she hadn't shown up at the Masquerade, she would be dead.

Her stubbornness had saved her life.

Lost in thought, Elena didn't hear the footsteps of someone approaching her from behind until it was too late. A hand clamped over her mouth to keep in her screams as she felt something sharp being forced into her side. Within seconds, her vision began to blur and the world around her faded into black.


	9. Rose

**a/n: so after watching the episode, I had no idea what to do with it...turns out, it was the easiest chapter to write. I couldn't remember what Elijah really said during the fight scene so I made it up instead of rewatching the episode (thanks Mom for deleting it!). Anybody else fuming like me when Damon compelled her at the end? Hopefully this one makes you guys feel better :) Again, any questions/concerns let me know :)**

**NINE**

The moment Elijah tore the vervain locket from her throat, Elena felt naked; vulnerable. She shut her eyes and tired to tilt her face away from him, but he was stronger. He cupped the back of her head and forced her to look at him, prying one of her eyes open with his other hand. "Where is the moonstone?" he asked in a silky voice, his eyes dilating like every vampire using their compulsion.

"Mystic Falls. In the tomb with Katherine," she heard herself say automatically as if she were a robot.

"Good girl," he said and shoved her away from him.

As he turned around to speak to Rose, the sound of shattering glass filled the room. Elena's eyes went wide as hope began to build inside her. She had gotten Bonnie's note, but to _know_ that Stefan and Damon were close made her almost giddy with relief.

Elijah glared at her with blood red eyes and protruding veins, his fangs fully extended. "Friends of yours?" he sneered before grabbing her and dragging her towards the staircase where Rose was. She was still looking at the body of her dead friend. "Move!" Elijah hissed, grabbing her arm and pulling her along with Elena.

As they stood in the foyer of the empty mansion, Elena felt the air stir and saw something blur in front of her. Both vampires whirled around trying to catch the culprit, but it was unsuccessful. "Up here," came Stefan's voice in a taunting manner.

Elijah moved swiftly up the stairs only to be rewarded with a stake flying towards his heart. Being as old as he was, he was able to dodge it only to have it slice through the palm of his hand. "Is that all you got?" he taunted back.

Elena gave a muffled cry as an arm snaked around her waist accompanied by a hand over her mouth. She closed her eyes, opening them once she felt herself being pressed between a wall at her back and a solid body at her front. She opened her eyes cautiously, a little afraid it wasn't the person she had been hoping for. Relief made her heart skip a beat at the sight of Damon's piercing blue eyes begging her to be silent. She gave a nod and he let his hand fall away from her mouth.

"This is getting most tiresome," Elijah announced in a bored tone. "I just want the human and then I'll be on my way."

Elena's eyes went wide as Damon pressed something cold and hard into the palm of her hand and curled her fingers around it. She looked down and saw what could only be described as a weapon. Obviously they had raided Alaric's stash of vampire hunting supplies before they came after her. Damon leaned in close, his entire body pressing against hers. He stopped when his lips touched the shell of her ear and tried not to show her how much the small shudder she gave affected him. "Vervain bomb," he breathed, briefly explaining the weapon and its function.

"I will find you and tear you to pieces if you don't hand her over. _Now_," Elijah threatened.

Damon pulled back just enough so that he could demonstrate what she was supposed to do. Elena was astonished that she had understood his instructions even though he hadn't said a single word. When the non verbal plan had been set in motion, Elena felt her stomach twist into knots and she tried everything she could to stop her heart from beating wildly in her chest. As Damon stepped back to let her go, Elena hoped with every fiber of her being that she had understood his gestures and that she didn't screw this up. It was the only chance of getting out of here alive that she knew of.

Damon nodded at her and she rushed forward, stopping at the top of the staircase. "Please," she whispered. "You don't have to kill them. I'll go with you, just don't hurt them." She tried everything to keep her voice from shaking. "My friends were just trying to rescue me."

Elijah smiled coldly at her from the middle of the staircase. As he took a step forward, she did what Damon had instructed and launched the weapon at him. It exploded in his face and he groaned with agony. Elena sank to the ground and covered her head with her arms, but not before she saw his skin begin to blister as a reaction to the vervain.

She jumped at the sound of wrestling and removed her arms to see Stefan grappling with Elijah. The pair tumbled down the stairs, hitting the ground floor with a sound that could only be described as bones being broken. It made Elena cringe and close her eyes, not wanting to see what came next.

She felt the air stir, involuntarily raising her head as curiosity got the best of her. Stefan was using some sort of stake gun, emptying each piece of wood into Elijah as he advanced on the younger vamp. It didn't seem to be slowing him down in the least. In that moment, Elena thought for sure that the Original was going to get the upper hand. Her lips parted with the full intention of crying out to him, her body moving forward as an automated response, but before any sound came out, Damon appeared holding what used to be the wooden coat rack. Now it was a large stake and it was currently being rammed into Elijah's chest, pinning him to the door as a child would pin the tail on the donkey. Elena watched in horror and awe as his skin turned a disgusting shade of grey and hung limply around the stake.

It took at least a minute before the realization that the danger was over sank in. They had won. Elena jumped at the rush of wind as Rose fled from the house. Damon moved to go after her, but Elena called out to him, pulling herself from her daze. "Let her go," she said softly, holding his gaze with hers.

He stared at her with hard eyes. He wanted nothing more than to go after the girl that had taken Elena. The woman who had handed her over to someone whose intention was to kill her. However, he sensed the pleading in her eyes and he forced himself to relax. He inclined his head and tried to focus on the fact that she was alive and uninjured save for what pain Katherine had caused her the previous night.

To think that he had almost lost her twice in less than twenty-four hours made him realize the true extent of his feelings for her.

Elena began to descend the stairs, trying her best to not trip and fall due to her trembling legs. She wanted to collapse from exhaustion, but in order to do that she needed to be safe, she forced herself to keep moving forward. Fortunately for her, safety was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. All she had to do was make it down without falling.

As her foot touched the ground floor, Stefan stepped between her and Damon, wrapping his arms around her, stopping her in her tracks. "I'm so glad we found you."

Elena stood there with her arms at her sides, unable to raise them. Her eyes shut as she winced from the pain shooting up her arms and down her back as Stefan pressed against the places Katherine had inflicted her damage. She wanted to pull away and seek the comfort she had been trying to get to, but the exhaustion hit her. Elena felt her body go slack as she sagged against Stefan. Her chin rested on his shoulder and her eyes half opened. She regretted it almost immediately. Damon looked so hurt and it broke her heart.

Elena squeezed her eyes shut against the tears that burned them, determined not to fall apart no matter how much she wanted to. "Let's get you home," Stefan said, pulling away only to lift her up to carry her to the car.

She laid her head on his shoulder, glad for the assistance. At this point, she knew walking by herself was out of the question. Her body felt weightless and she could feel her consciousness begin to fade. Her eyes squeezed shut even tighter once they got outside, the sun was so bright.

"What are you doing?" Damon asked as Stefan placed the unconscious Elena into the back seat before crawling in after her.

"What does it look like?" Stefan asked, pausing to look at his brother.

"Hell no."

"Damon-"

"I'm not playing chauffeur," he said stubbornly. The last thing he wanted to do was drive almost a hundred miles back to Mystic Falls with the sight of Elena and Stefan embracing in his rearview mirror. "Besides, it will be more comfortable if she gets to stretch out and have the bench all to herself."

Stefan sighed, knowing Damon was right. "Do you have a blanket in the trunk?"

Damon nodded. "I brought one just in case. I don't want blood on the seats."

Stefan shook his head as he made his way to the back of the car, digging through the contents until he pulled out a blanket. He draped it over Elena and made a pillow out of an old sweatshirt of Damon's he had found next to the blanket. He then took his seat in the passenger side of the car and watched as Damon took his place behind the wheel. They both knew it was going to be a very long ride home.

* * *

Elena came awake to the familiar smell of Damon. She felt a smile taking hold of her dry, cracked lips and she rubbed her cheek against the object beneath her head. Her body was sore as she regained feeling in her extremities, but the scent made it easier to wake up. It was then that she felt a hand on her arm and heard Stefan's voice whispering her name. "Elena, wake up. We're at your house."

Elena opened her eyes and let her surroundings become real. She was in Damon's car, lying on the back seat. She pushed herself into a sitting position and rubbed at her eyes, noticing that her movements were sluggish. As she got out of the car with Stefan's help, she noticed the driver's seat was empty. "Where's Damon?" she asked, her voice sounding hoarse to her own ears.

"He had me drop him off at a bar just outside of town," he answered, supporting her as they walked to her front door.

She nodded and leaned against the exterior of the house. "Thank you for saving me," she breathed.

He reached out and tentatively cupped the side of her face. "We might not be together anymore, but I still-"

"Don't," she pleaded softly, moving her head away from his hand.

He let his hand drop to his side and he became guarded with his emotions. "Look, no matter what happens, I will always be there for you, Elena. I'm always going to save you and I'm willing to die for you if I have to. Damon is too."

"Stefan-"

"It's only fair because you'd do it for us." Elena felt her retort die in her throat and she could only stare at him. "Jeremy's waiting for you," he said and turned to walk back to the car.

Elena watched as he drove away, waiting until he was out of sight before she slipped inside. As the door shut, she heard her brother's voice from upstairs. "Elena!"

Carefully, she made her way up the stairs and into the arms of Bonnie. "Oh thank God!" the witch whispered into Elena's hair as she held onto her friend, afraid to let go.

"I got your note," Elena informed her, returning Bonnie's hold with the same amount of force.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Bonnie added before reluctantly stepping back. "I should go...give you two some space."

"You don't-"

"I'll see you tomorrow," Bonnie assured her and went into Jeremy's room to collect her things before leaving the siblings alone.

Jeremy immediately gathered his sister into his arms and held her close. She winced as he pressed against her wounds as Stefan had done. "We were so worried," he breathed.

Elena relaxed against him and tightened her hold. She felt better now that she was home and completely out of danger. For now. "I was too."

"Did they hurt you?"

She shook her head and pulled back as she felt a tear hit her cheek. Only she wasn't crying. The tears leaking from Jeremy's eyes made her tear up as she reached out to wipe them away. "It's okay, Jer. I'm fine. Damon and Stefan got there just in time. They didn't lay a hand on me." With that, she held onto him again, placing her head on his chest.

When they finally did break apart, Jeremy led her to her room and helped her sit on her bed, using the headboard as a backrest. "Are you hungry? Do you need anything?"

Elena started to shake her head before looking up at him with wide eyes. "Do we still have vervain tea?"

He nodded and then dropped his gaze to her neck. "Where's your..." Anger flooded his face as his hands curled into fists. "Elena they-"

"Yes, one of them compelled me, but it was just to get information. Nothing else."

"How can you be sure? The whole point of compulsion is that you don't know what's happening."

The murderous look on his face scared her. It was the first time she had seen her brother like this and in a strange way, it warmed her heart. "I promise you Jeremy, nothing happened."

He seemed to calm down although she wasn't quite convinced that he believed her. "Just the tea?"

She nodded. "And some very strong pain killers," she added, eliciting a smirk from him before he returned her nod and headed downstairs.

Elena sighed and sat back against the headboard. Her eyes closed and the image of Damon's pained expression filled her vision. She forced her eyes open and focused her attention to the wall on the opposite side of the room. She completely zoned out, not even noticing when Jeremy came back into the room until he snapped his fingers in front of her face.

He placed the container of pills on her nightstand and handed her the cup of tea. "I put a little bit more vervain than was necessary. Just to be safe," he said as she sat by her side and began to uncap the pill bottle.

Elena smiled as she raised the steaming liquid to her lips. "Thanks."

"How many do you want?"

"Enough to knock me out," she said with another smirk.

Jeremy shook his head as he smiled and handed her four of the pills. It was a strong dose, enough to knock her out within a half hour or less. Elena finished her tea, wanting the vervain to be in her system before she was too tired to finish the cup. "I was the one to discover that you were missing," he said quietly.

"What?"

"This morning, I was getting ready for school and I kept calling for you, but you didn't answer. Your bed was made and I just assumed you and Stefan had patched things up and you went over there. I joked with him about it and he said he never saw you after the Masquerade. If I hadn't-"

"Jeremy, stop," she demanded, surging forward to wrap her arms around him despite the pain that the effort caused. "Don't think like that. I'm home, I'm safe, and I-" she stopped as she remembered the blood stains on her shirt. "And I need to get rid of these clothes," she finished.

Jeremy gave a light smile and helped her stand. "I'll take care of this," he said, grabbing the pills and the tea cup. "You take care of your clothes."

"Then I'm going to bed. Night Jer."

"Goodnight Elena," he said and closed her door behind him.

Elena got ready for bed as fast as she could, stuffing the bloody shirt under the sink until she could dispose of it properly. She could already feel the pills working, her muscles didn't really need the extra encouragement to relax and it was only a matter of time before she fell into a deep sleep. Hopefully Jeremy would remember to make up a story for Jenna so that her aunt wouldn't disturb her in the morning. She stood in front of the sink after brushing her teeth and changing into her pajamas and just stared at herself. There were bags under her eyes and she looked exhausted, but she was grateful to be alive. Pushing herself away from the counter, she made her way into her room again.

She was startled by the sight of Damon sitting on the window seat. "Cute," he said in reference to her outfit.

Elena shook her head and took a deep breath. "I'm exhausted Damon. Whatever you have to say, it can wait until tomorrow. I can't do this right now."

He stood up, ignoring her request, and moved towards her, holding out his hand to reveal her vervain locket dangling from his fingertips. "I brought you something."

"My necklace," she breathed. "I thought-"

"I saw it when I was searching the house to make sure no one else was there. I had to replace the chain, but I got it back." She nodded and reached out for it, fear spreading through her like wildfire when he jerked it away from her reach. "There's something I have to say first."

"Why can't you say it while I'm wearing my necklace?" she questioned, unsure if he was aware of the vervain coursing through her system. She knew he wasn't going to hurt her, but he didn't quite seem like himself at the moment.

He took another step closer and unleashed the full effect of his eyes. She was lost as she felt him drawing her in, unable to look away. "Stefan said something earlier and it made sense. Katherine tore us apart because we were blinded by our love for her. In the end, it cost us our lives and what we thought was hers. It can't be the same way this time around. I won't let it happen."

"Damon-" she breathed, knowing what his next words were going to be. She had been anticipating them since the moment Isobel had said them.

"I love you, Elena. I love you enough to know that I have to back away otherwise you will get hurt. I don't deserve you, but my brother does." He heard her heart rate increase and it tore him in two as he saw the tears gathering in her eyes. He reached up to cup her face, leaning in to place a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I'm telling you this before I give you the necklace because I can't have you remembering this," he whispered.

Elena saw his eyes dilating and knew instantly that he was trying to compel her to forget. In an instant, the necklace was fastened around her neck and Damon was gone, her curtains flapping in his wake.

He loved her.

Elena barely made it to her bed before her knees gave out. He had finally come clean with his feelings and poured his heart out to her. Elena sat there, staring at the window seat where he had been. She had no idea how she was supposed to act around him now since she wasn't supposed to remember his confession. As she let her body fall backwards, head hitting the pillow, she felt a little bit of anger towards Damon. She thought of how close they had been getting these past few weeks and about how her feelings for him had changed as well. "How dare he," Elena muttered, feeling her eyelids grow heavy.

It hurt, knowing he didn't want her to remember. Mostly because the realization hit her as she began to drift off to sleep; she knew she was in love with him too.


	10. Katerina

**A/N: so I know I've said this before, but this one was really hard to write because the episode was a little...blah, I guess. I think they're doing too much too fast. Don't me wrong, I still love it, but they're losing the believabilty they had in season one. Anyone else think the whole thing with Rose is just stupid? Sure, us Delena fans don't like that she slept with Damon, but I just think it's a little strange that the Salvatore's are trusting her and letting her stick around Mystic Falls. She did kidnap Elena and almost get her killed, right? Anyway, enought about that, I needed to vent somewhere.**

**I really wish this chapter could have been longer considering there will be THREE WEEKS of nothing, but I liked where the show is going from the previews for the next episode and I didn't want to mess up the story line...so I'm sorry in advance. BTW, you guys totally blew me away with the amount of reviews from Ch. 9 and each one of them made my day so thank you all a million times over for that!**

TEN

Elena stood in front of the tomb, staring at Katherine as she sat with her back to the human, flipping through the pages of their family history. A question popped into Elena's mind, one that she had been wanting to ask since Katherine had come back to town. "Why did you keep both of them?" she asked, knowing the vampire would know who "they" were.

Katherine shut the book and set it on her lap before scooting around so she could see Elena. "Why not?"

"No, I really want to know. If you claim to love Stefan so much, why did you start something with Damon?"

Katherine flashed her a wicked grin. "I'm sure even you can figure out the answer to that," she said in a tone that made Elena blush. "You've been with Stefan. You know how shy and sweet he is. I had to be very patient with him," Katherine added, her grin turning into a smile that people get when reflecting on a fond memory. "I don't like to be patient."

Elena gave a small nod, letting the other girl know she understood her meaning.

"Damon made it very clear from the beginning that he was ready and willing. So while I waited for Stefan to come around, I took Damon up on his non verbal offer. He really is fantastic in bed."

This time, Elena looked away and Katherine smirked with satisfaction. "Why not just compel Stefan?"

Katherine didn't answer right away, causing Elena to look at her again. She instantly became puzzled at the sight of several emotions shining in the vampire's eyes. "I wanted it to be real with him," she answered, looking Elena straight in the eye. "From the moment I met him, I knew there was something about him. People always used to talk about soul mates; that when you meet yours, you _know_. There's that spark; something about you draws you in and no matter how hard you try to stop yourself from falling, you fail."

Elena swallowed over the lump in her throat at Katherine's words.

"The worst part about soul mates is that they are your other half. They complete you in a way you never would have thought. Opposite's attract rings very true. Stefan was everything I wasn't. He was good, loyal, sweet and I knew it was love at first sight."

"Then why did you even bother with Damon?"

Katherine sighed and adjusted herself so she was sitting more comfortably. "I already told you, Damon knows what he's doing. Even as a human he hit the spot every single time." She loved watching Elena squirm at her words. "I'm clearly no saint, but Stefan was. So while I waited for him to come around, I did what I wanted. Once he told me he loved me, I made the decision to put as much distance as I could between Damon and myself."

Elena snorted at that. "It didn't seem to work all that well."

"That's because the eldest Salvatore gets obsessed. He's loyal, a trait I admire most, but he and I were too much the same. It would never have worked out," she replied and sighed as she reminisced about her days with the Salvatore's as humans.

Elena scowled at that. Damon was nothing like Katherine. "I still don't think that you love them. Or that you ever did."

"Why not?"

"If you did, you wouldn't have waited a century and a half to make up your mind and tell Stefan how you really felt."

Katherine got to her feet and slammed her fist into the stone wall. "Weren't you listening to anything I told you earlier? I was on the run! I left to protect them! Then I finally get my chance to stop running and be with my soul mate only to find that they had moved on with _you_!" She paused and glared at Elena with anger. "I was mad at Stefan for making Damon complete the transition. I decided it was best if I moved on with my life and let them think I was dead."

"Then why did you give both of them your blood?"

"I told Damon I would turn him, but I already knew I wasn't going to. After I escaped from the tomb, I was going to come back and turn Stefan. They weren't supposed to try and rescue me!" she raged, smashing her fist into the wall again.

Elena let Katherine have her moment, watching as the vampire got control of her emotions. Feeling a bit sorry for her, Elena bent down and reached for the bottle that was now half full of blood. "I have a few more questions and then you can have the rest."

Katherine's eyes fluttered as she stared at her doppelganger. "What do you want to know?"

"How did you know it was love?"

It was silent as Katherine thought about how to answer Elena who saw her lips tremble. "I knew it was real love because after all the games I've played, out of all the people I've manipulated and killed, I couldn't get Stefan out of my head. Even though I was trying to protect him, I didn't care; I had to come back and tell him how I felt." She paused and shot Elena a menacing glare, the blue and red veins surrounding her eyes as her fangs extended just a little. "But you had gotten in the way."

The signs of blood lust faded and she sank to the floor, looking utterly exhausted. "My advice to you, Elena, is this; if you come across someone who is so completely wrong for you, but makes you feel more alive than ever, don't let them get away from you."

Elena's lips parted, wanting to tell her that that was exactly what she felt for Stefan, but nothing came out.

Katherine reached out with her hand and curled her index finger in a beckoning motion. "I know that you understand who I'm talking about," she said quietly as Elena squatted down to roll the bottle across the barrier.

As she drank the liquid hungrily, Elena let her words sink in and shuddered. How could the woman she had come to associate with the devil say things that made perfect sense? Today had changed her opinion of Katherine. She knew she couldn't trust anything she said, but at the same time, the vampire had no reason to lie anymore. It got her thinking of Damon and the fact that he had compelled her. It stirred the anger she had been trying to ignore.

"There is another way to break the curse," came Katherine's voice, pulling Elena from her thoughts.

"How?"

Katherine extended both arms and ran her nail over her wrist, moving it as far as she could, letting the blood trickle out of the wound. "You become a vampire."

As Elena weighed the pros and cons of that decision, the wound closed. Just as she had healed completely, Stefan made his appearance, looking back and forth between the two of them. He saw how shaken Elena was and looked angrily towards Katherine. "What did you say to her?"

"I told her everything she needed to hear. She got her answers, Stefan. There's nothing left for me to say," she said and slowly turned to walk back into the depths of the tomb.

Stefan turned to Elena and then pulled her into his arms. It was then that she knew Katherine hadn't been lying. She had found her soul mate and it wasn't him.

* * *

Damon closed his eyes and leaned back against the chair. He wasn't sure how or why it happened, but it had. And there was nothing he could do to take it back. He remembered seeing the need in her eyes and it drew him in. He thought- hoped- that it would be enough to take his mind off of recent events, but it had had the opposite effect. Now he was filled with regret and guilt; two emotions he hadn't let himself feel in the longest time.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of fingers snapping close to his face. "It's a good thing I'm not the jealous type," Rose said with a small smile.

"What?"

"I know you're not thinking of me," she said and tucked her hand under her head, her elbow propped on the couch near his head.

"How do you know?" he asked, not really in the mood for banter.

"Because generally, men don't look so unsatisfied after sex with me," she boasted and used her other hand to cup the side of his face. "But I know what you really wanted and I can't fault you for trying."

"What are you talking about?"

"You wanted me to be Elena," she said with a shrug and turned so that her back was resting against the couch.

"I-"

"I know you're in love with her. I could see it in your eyes when she came over this morning. I could see it in your eyes when you saw her for the first time after Trevor and I took her. I see it in your eyes every time you think about her, every time you talk about her, and every time you look at her when you think no one else can see you."

He frowned at her and shut his eyes. It was all true and he hated himself for it.

"Why don't you tell the girl?"

"I did," he groused.

"Ah."

"Ah, what?"

"That explains her sour mood and your distractions."

Damon stared at her for a moment and shook his head. "I told her and then compelled her to forget."

Rose smirked at that. "You chickened out is what you did."

Having had enough of this conversation, Damon stood and scrounged around for his pants. "I knew this was a bad idea."

"Oh come on," she said and watched him redress. "You should tell her and see what she has to say. She might surprise you."

Damon shook his head and started moving to the door, buttoning up his shirt as he went. "I already know what she's going to say. She's in love with my brother," he said as he grabbed his keys from the table by the door and left Rose under the blanket on the floor of the boarding house.

* * *

Elena's movements were sluggish as she finally got her hands to stop shaking enough to unlock the front door. She hated that Stefan had witnessed her meltdown, but at the same time, she was glad he was there. All the way to her house, he had been silent, waiting for her to say something first. It made her wonder how much he had heard of her conversation with Katherine before he decided to interrupt them.

Elena made it to her room and gathered her pajamas before trudging over to the bathroom. Everything Katherine had said was still being processed in Elena's mind. She felt bad for the vampire. She couldn't imagine what it would have been like to have a baby and then be forced to give it up without even getting to look at it. Thinking about it made her shudder; she couldn't even imagine what Katherine felt every time she remembered that night.

As Elena looked at her reflection, she thought of Katherine's options. Elena knew that if she chose to turn, the curse would forever remain in place. She was the last of the Petrova's, but for all anyone knew, there could be more out there and turning would just lead to Klaus ruining someone else's life. Elena's eyes burned with unshed tears as she recalled the look on Katherine's face when she told Elena about going home to find her entire family dead. That was the hardest part of this decision. If she turned, she knew her friends and family would be killed. Then again, if she stayed human, the chances of the same outcome were very high.

Elena sighed heavily and pushed herself away from the counter. She was exhausted both mentally and physically. Right now, she wanted to curl up in a ball under the covers and sleep. She wanted nothing more than to block the thoughts and images that plagued her, running through her mind on a constant loop. She reached for the comforter and turned it down before lying down on the bed. It was then she realized she didn't have the energy to reach for the covers. With another sigh, she rolled onto her side, drew her legs up, tucked her arms under her head, and closed her eyes.

Unfortunately, sleep didn't come. She was able to relax and her breathing became deep and even, but every time she started to slip into unconsciousness, her mind would bring up something about Katherine and she was awake again. Even after a few hours of lying there, she was still unable to sleep.

Sometime during the night, she felt the air in her room stir and her heart skipped a beat. She knew Damon was in the room; she could feel it in her bones. She knew if she opened her eyes, she would be angry with him and she didn't have the energy for that. Instead, she kept her eyes closed and pretended that she was asleep even though she knew he could tell she wasn't.

Even though Damon knew full well that she was awake, he couldn't seem to stop himself. He moved to the side of her bed, the one where he could see her face, and began removing his shoes. Once he had pushed them beneath the bed, he laid down next to her on his side, his head propped up on his elbow. With his free hand, he reached out and cupped the side of her face, gently stroking her cheek with the pad of his thumb.

He knew he shouldn't have come, that the whole point behind compelling her was so he had a reason to put some distance between them. Needless to say, that hadn't worked out. As he was leaving the boarding house, Stefan had been coming home. His brother had told him about Elena's day with Katherine. If Stefan had heard any of their conversation, he hadn't shared the knowledge. He had only said that Elena was in a bad place right now, but she had sent him away. Leaving Damon with only one option; he had to see her. The fact that she was awake at this hour proved that she was hurting whether she knew that or not.

Damon removed his arm so that he could get the comforter that she had folded down earlier. He pulled it over both of them and was surprised when Elena moved closer to him. She draped her arm over his side and placed her head on his shoulder, forcing him to lie flat on his back. He placed his arm around her and held her tightly as he had done the night before the Masquerade.

Elena was mad at Damon, but she craved the safety in his arms. She knew it was a bad idea, but she could already feel herself being lulled into sleep just from having him near her. She wondered what he had come over here for in the first place, but figured it would be best to ask him another time. As she drifted off to sleep, she thought about what Katherine had said concerning soul mates. Damon's arms tightened a little and Elena knew instantly that hers was Damon.


	11. The Sacrifice

**a/n: Geez, that break killed me! Alright, so I really changed things for this episode. Hopefully I can make it work with future episodes. Not much to say this time around, so enjoy :)**

ELEVEN

For the third day in a row, Elena woke up to the scent of Damon. Her eyes were still closed as she moved closer to the pillow he had used. She took a deep breath and let the fading scent fill her nostrils. This was as close as she was going to get to him; as close as she was going to let herself get to him. With a sigh, Elena pushed the pillow away and rolled onto her back, opening her eyes to stare at the ceiling. She missed him. The morning after he had shown up, he was gone by the time she woke. It hurt, knowing that he didn't stick around to talk to her, but at the same time she was grateful. It gave her time to think about what she was going to say.

It also gave her time to think about the doppelganger situation. And the more she thought about it, the more she knew she had made the right decision. Even if she knew no one else would see it that way.

With that thought in mind, she kicked the covers off and moved to the bathroom to get ready for the day. Her hope of having the day to herself was dashed at the sound of the doorbell. She sighed as she reached the bottom step and hesitated before opening it. Her eyes went wide at the sight of the Salvatore's. After seeing Alaric in his underwear in the middle of the night, this was the last thing she needed. Her eyes only flickered to Damon for less than a second before she focused on Stefan. She cleared her throat, hoping that it would camouflage the fact that her heart skipped a beat.

"What?" she asked, knowing that she was being rude.

"We need to talk," Stefan said, sounding urgent.

She took a deep breath and shook her head. "I know what you're going to say and-"

"Elena," Damon interrupted. Her eyes jumped to his and she felt her body straighten up. "We need to talk," he repeated Stefan's words, enunciating each one of them to get the point across.

Stefan stared between the two of them, his brows furrowing at the tension. He knew it had always been there, but it had never been this intense. Before he could say anything, Elena shifted her weight and moved to the side. "Fine, come in."

They slipped past her silently, not needing to remind her that the invitation was unnecessary. Elena shut the door slowly as they walked to the kitchen. She leaned against the frame, giving herself a moment to gather her wits. After a deep breath, she made her way to the kitchen and took a seat at the island. Instead of asking any more questions, she looked at them both, waiting for them to speak.

"We think we found a way to lift the spell," Stefan said, hope shining in his eyes as they locked with hers.

"How?" she asked.

The brother's exchanged a quick look at the sound of disinterest in her voice. "Rose's friend Slater. He said that we just have to take the curse off of the moonstone and this will all be over," Stefan stated.

"Which means there will be no doppelganger sacrifice and you'll get to keep on living," Damon chimed in, offering her a light smile that didn't reach his eyes.

Before Elena could say anything, Stefan rushed on to explain. "We spoke to Bonnie and she said she was willing to try and remove the curse."

"Katherine-"

"The witch also has a plan to get the stone from Katherine without any of us getting hurt," Damon informed her.

"So we get in, get the moonstone, and lift the curse," Stefan concluded, smiling at her. His smile faded the more he watched her lack of expression. "Look, we know removing the curse won't be that easy, but-"

"It's a good plan, Stefan, but I don't want you to do it." Elena moved her gaze to each brother, watching their reactions to her confession.

"Elena-" Stefan started.

"I mean it. If we remove the curse, Klaus is still going to come after me and destroy everyone that I care about, including the two of you," she said, letting her gaze linger on Damon for a second longer than she meant to. "Either way, Klaus is going to come after me and I'm tried of people getting hurt because of me."

"Elena-" Stefan started once more.

She stood up, cutting him off. She shook her head and moved towards the entrance of the kitchen. "Thanks, but no thanks. I won't let people put their lives at stake for me anymore." With that, she turned her back on them.

Before she even got to take a step, Damon was there, blocking her. "We appreciate the fact that you're trying to protect us, but we _want _to do this. We don't want you to sacrifice yourself for something Katherine did. If she had died like she was supposed to, you wouldn't be in this position. None of us would be." He paused and listened as her heart beat irregularly. He knew it wasn't from his words, but the fact that he was standing so close that he could feel the heat of her body. "We're risking ourselves because we want to."

Elena swallowed hard and took a step back in order to breathe. His proximity was doing a number on her and she didn't want Stefan to witness it. "I know this is her fault but-"

"He's right, Elena," Stefan said. "We like the idea of you dying as much as you like us risking ourselves to help you." He moved around the island and reached for her hands. "Let us try to reverse the curse. I can't lose you, Elena."

Damon's jaw hardened and if it weren't for the fact that Elena didn't melt at Stefan's words, he would have lashed out. Elena caved and nodded. "Fine. But I meant everything I said. I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me. If Bonnie can't handle it, we do things my way. Understand?" she demanded, pulling her hands back and sliding them into her pockets.

"Yes," both brothers muttered in unison.

Elena nodded once more and turned towards Damon. He adjusted his stance to let her pass. She tried not to react as she felt her body brush against his on her way out. She headed to the front door and opened it, gesturing for them both to leave. As Stefan went to the car, Damon lingered behind and stood just as close to her as he had in the kitchen. "Don't do anything stupid Elena."

She narrowed her eyes at him, but didn't say a word. She let out a deep breath the moment he began walking to the car. She waited until they left before she went upstairs to retrieve her purse. Once she was in her own car, she headed to the boarding house, hoping that they hadn't gone home. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she arrived to the mansion without Damon's car in the driveway. Slowly, Elena walked up the front door, gathering her courage with each step. Finally, she opened the door and moved inside.

"It's not right to leave a woman naked so early in the..." Rose's voice trailed off as she came around the corner to find Elena. She tied the sash around her robe quicker and offered the human girl a small smile. "I thought you were Damon. They're not home."

Elena nodded and continued to stare at Rose, trying not to let the jealousy she felt take over. "I know. I'm here to talk to you anyway."

Rose narrowed her eyes. "What could you possibly have to say to me?"

"Put on some clothes and you'll find out," Elena demanded, surprised at how assertive she was being. "I'll be in the parlor," she added and left the vampire standing in the foyer with eyes wide in surprise.

The first thing Elena did was pour herself a drink. She smirked, knowing Damon hated it when anyone but him took his liquor. Unless, of course, he offered. However, she knew what she was going to do and liquid courage was necessary. "I didn't peg you for a drinker," Rose said, coming into the room rather quickly.

Elena sat the empty tumbler by the bottle and shrugged. "I'm usually not."

Rose took a seat on the couch and Elena sat on the opposite end. "Why do I get the feeling you're up to no good?"

"Because I'm talking to you without Damon and Stefan around." Elena knew she was being a little rude, but the fact that the vampire had kidnapped her and somehow gotten the Salvatores to trust her seemed to justify it. "I want you to take me to see Slater."

Rose's eyes widened again. "Why?"

"I want to ask him a few questions."

Rose shook her head. "The last time we were there, someone blew up the cafe. It's too dangerous."

Elena inclined her head and decided to use the one advantage over Rose that she had. "How would you like to walk in the sun again?"

Once again, Elena had surprised Rose. "I've been a slave to the shadows for over five hundred years. I would do anything to walk in the sun," she said before realizing the words that had left her mouth. Her eyes narrowed as she studied the copy of the girl who had tricked her all those years ago. "How would you be able to pull that off?"

"I know a witch."

Rose raised one of her brows in suspicion. "The same witch Damon was telling me about? I thought she was new at this?"

"It doesn't change the fact that she can do it. She's made one before and if you help me, I'll have her make a talisman for you too."

Rose mulled it over and then nodded. "I take you to see Slater and I get a talisman in return."

"Right."

"You know Damon and Stefan are going to be very angry about this."

Elena shrugged and got to her feet. "If they can forgive you for having me kidnapped, they can forgive you for this," she stated and began heading towards the front door. Fortunately, Rose kept her comments to herself and followed Elena outside after covering her skin from the sun.

* * *

While Alice delivered her message, Elena moved to the windows. "What the hell was that?" Rose asked, keeping her voice low, but filled with fury. "Contacting Klaus is as good as signing your own death wish."

Elena simply stared at Rose, her face expressionless.

Rose shook her head in disbelief. "That's what you want isn't it? I can't believe you used me."

"Hey," Elena started. "You were going to use me to get back into Elijah's good graces."

"Yeah, and look how that turned out," Rose reminded her.

Elena shrugged and turned her attention back to the window. "I want to do this. I don't have to explain anything to you. You can go if you want. I don't need you here anymore."

"What about Damon and Stefan? What about your other friends and your family? You're just going to leave without saying goodbye to anyone?"

"They would try to talk me out of it and in the end they would make rash decisions to come up with another plan. It's better this way," Elena said, trying to convince herself more than Rose.

Elena saw the vampire shaking her head in the reflection of the window. "Fine. Suit yourself," she said and turned her back to the human girl.

Elena leaned against the window and closed her eyes. Immediately, Damon's face formed in her mind, causing her to sigh. He was angry and she knew he had every reason to be. If everything went well, this morning would have been the last time she saw either Salvatore. Elena shuddered, suddenly feeling sick, and opened her eyes. She nearly jumped as she saw Elijah's face staring back at her. She turned around to find the space behind her was empty and when she turned back to the window, his face was gone.

Elena ran a hand through her hair and placed her other hand over her heart. She took deep breaths and forced herself to calm down. In that moment, she wished that Damon were there. She wanted to be in his arms and feel safe and secure. Once again, Elena shook the feeling away and cleared her throat. Deciding that she needed to do something to keep her mind from wandering, she made her way to Slater's kitchen and looked around for something to do.

After a solid half an hour, Elena had cleaned the entire kitchen. Rose and Alice were in the living room, watching her every move. When Elena looked in their direction, they averted their eyes. Shaking her head, Elena grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water. As she moved into the living room, she noticed Alice's eyes grow wide with shock and Rose got to her feet. It was then that Elena felt it; the same feeling she had whenever _he_ walked into the room.

She spun around and sure enough, Damon was there. The glass slipped from her hand and shattered once it hit the floor. "What are you doing here?" he growled.

"What are _you _doing here?" she returned, both angry and happy to see him. Realization dawned on her and she turned to look at Rose. "You called him?"

"Oh my God! Damon Salvatore?" Alice said, her face lighting up at the sight of him.

"Remove her," Damon ordered and Rose left, taking the other woman with her without saying a word to Elena.

"Damon-"

His face hardened to point where Elena could see his muscles tick. She knew it was the way she said his name; he hated it. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing? Didn't Stefan and I tell you that we had a plan?"

"Yes, but-"

"I told you not to do anything stupid," he interrupted.

Elena knew he was fighting the urge to lash out at her. "I'm tired of everyone deciding everything for me. I'm doing this to protect everyone and I-"

"Get your ass out of here now before I throw you over my shoulder and carry you out," he ordered, his voice dangerously low.

Elena knew he would do it given that he had done just that not too long ago. "I'm not going anywhere." The moment the words left her lips, he reached forward and grabbed her forearm. She tried yanking her arm from his grasp, but it did no good. "Damon! Let go!" she demanded and started struggling.

She raised her free hand instinctually and moved for his face but he caught her fist and squeezed it. Elena stopped moving as pain coursed through her arm. Slowly, Damon moved forward until his face was only inches from hers. "Don't _ever _try that again," he warned.

"Then let me go," she hissed, not wanting to back down from him.

Slowly, he let go of her, but remained close. "Elena, you don't have to do this," he said. His face had softened and his voice was laced with pain. It nearly broke her heart to hear him like that. Especially since the last time she had heard him like this was when he had confessed his love to her.

Elena took a few steps back, needing to breathe. "Yes I do. I meant what I said earlier, Damon. I don't want anyone getting hurt because of me."

Before Damon could reply, Rose entered the room, taking her place behind Elena. "Alice is gone."

At that moment, the front door opened and in came three men. Damon whirled around, standing protectively in front of Elena. All three men let their eyes rest on Elena. "You really do exist."

"You're not going anywhere near her," Damon informed them.

"Damon-" Elena started and moved forward, only to be blocked by his arm.

"Damn it, Elena. Stay. Put."

"We just want the human girl. We're prepared to kill you if we have to," another man said, looking directly at Damon.

Instead of Damon getting the chance to reply, the sickening sound of flesh being torn apart filled the room. All eyes jumped to the third man closest to the door. Elena's eyes were wide with terror as his body slid to reveal Elijah who held the man's still beating heart in his bloodied hand. Elena moved closer to Damon's back, trying her best to hide behind him even though Elijah had already seen her. She jumped a little as the air stirred and when she looked back over her shoulder, Rose was gone.

"I killed you," Damon said, staring at the elder vampire in awe.

Elijah gave him a light smirk as one of the men spoke. "Who are you?"

"I'm Elijah."

His eyes went wide at the recognition of the vampire's name. "We were going to bring her back alive. I swear."

Elijah nodded and stepped forward until he was within an arm's reach from the two men. "Does anyone else know that you're here?"

"No."

"Good," he replied and lashed out with both hands. Once again, the men fell to the floor while Elijah held their hearts.

Elena moved even closer to Damon and tried to look away, but found herself unable to do anything but stare at the carnage. Damon adjusted his stance, trying his best to hide his fear. He knew they were in real danger. Just as he was about to take Elena and flee, Elijah turned and ran from the room. Damon stood up straight in shock and slowly turned around to see Elena with a perplexed expression on her face.

She began to shake her head slowly as she looked at Damon. "Why did he do that?"

"I don't know," he answered and looked past her briefly. "Where's Rose?"

Elena snorted. "She took off the moment Elijah showed himself. Some friend."

Damon narrowed his eyes at her, noticing the bitterness of her voice. "She's been on the run from him for a long time."

Elena's jaw dropped. "You're defending her?"

"I-" he started and took a step towards her.

She recoiled and held up her hands. "No!" she shouted and glared at him, her eyes practically willing him to burst into flames. "It's bad enough that you and Stefan let her live in your home, but now you're defending her too? Did you both forget that she had me kidnapped so that she could hand me over to Elijah?"

"She lost her friend..." Damon started, knowing that was a weak argument. He really didn't have an explanation for her.

"So what?" Elena's voice was rising in pitch, letting Damon know that she was on the verge of raw anger. "A few months ago, I never would have questioned how much I meant to either of you, but now I'm starting to wonder. Katherine comes into town and it's all about her. I'm sure if they had kidnapped _her,_ then-"

Damon cut her off with a wave of his hand. "Did you hear yourself just now?"

Elena knew she was being irrational, but she was trying not to confront him about his love confession. Not here. Not surrounded by four dead bodies. "Then tell me why you let her in when you pushed me away."

Damon could only stare at her and for the first time in a long time, he felt his stomach tie up in knots. "I didn't-"

"I trusted you," she said, her voice coming out in a whisper. Her head was down, eyes glued to the floor. She knew if she looked up at him, she would break. "How dare you push me away and blow me off. When I was with Stefan, you kept trying to get in the middle and then along comes Rose and you...you..." her voice trailed off, her throat closing up, leaving her unable to finish her thoughts.

Damon stared at her, trying to figure out what was going through her mind. In the very back of his mind, he _knew_ what she was talking about, but he didn't want to bring that up. Not now. He was sure that her words didn't have anything to do with the Elijah situation. "Elena, I-" Her eyes lifted from the floor and met his. He was completely unprepared for the unshed tears that were glistening in the light.

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe _I _don't deserve Stefan?" There. It was out and she couldn't take it back.

Damon's eyes widened and he took a step as her words hit him. It had felt like she had physically pushed him. "Elena-"

She shook her head and he saw a tear roll down her cheek. "Take me home," she demanded and began walking towards the front door. She stopped at his side, her gaze focused on the blood and mangled bodies that blocked her path. Instead of letting her stand there like a statue, Damon picked her up and rushed from the room. Neither of them said anything as he buckled her into the passenger seat of his car and began driving back to Mystic Falls.

Elena looked out the window the entire time. She refused to acknowledge his presence. Damon gripped the steering wheel to the point where he thought it would break free from the dashboard. Her words were running through his mind on repeat no matter how many times he tried to think of something else. As he parked in front of her house, he was surprised that she didn't bolt from the car. Instead, she sat there for a moment before slowly getting out. Without a word he followed her until she slowed at the top of the porch steps. Damon swallowed thickly as she turned to face him, realizing that they were standing in the same spot as the time he kissed Katherine.

"I had vervain tea that night," she mumbled, confirming his suspicions. She didn't even have to clarify which night; they both knew exactly which one. "I never thought I would see my necklace again so I had Jeremy make some tea."

"Elena-"

Her anger returned as she recalled her feelings after he vanished from the room. "You said you would never compel me and I believed you. Why didn't you just tell me how you felt? You just assumed that Stefan and I belong together when you know damn well that we don't."

He stared at her in disbelief. "I didn't want you to remember because it's the last thing you need right now."

"Then why tell me at all?"

"I had to, Elena. I was tired of keeping my feelings to myself. It was starting to make me reckless. I needed to at least say it so that it was out there." He paused for a moment and ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't want you to remember because I know I can't handle your rejection."

"How do you know I would reject you?" she challenged.

"Because girls like you don't fall for boys like me."

Elena shook her head and gave a sigh of frustration. "I'm not a saint, Damon. The Elena that you know is the Elena that can't get over her parents' death because one bad thing seems to happen right after another. I used to be fun. The Elena that you saw in Georgia, that's the real Elena." She paused and took a half step closer to him. "Funny thing about her; she only seems to appear when you're around."

Damon was taken aback by her words. He had always imagined this conversation, but it had always ended with her rejection. It was strange to think that Elena might accept him. Then again, he thought it was strange that he thought otherwise. He wanted to say something, but words were beyond him.

"You were wrong. You do deserve me. Even if it's not me, you deserve someone. You're not as bad as you claim to be. I've come to know the man behind the vampire and I would be a fool to reject him."

"Elena..." He still couldn't find the right words. She had made him speechless; a hard feat for anyone.

"The night that Katherine told you she wanted Stefan, you came to me and asked for one kiss. That kissed proved that I do have feelings for you. I told you that. I also told you that I wasn't going to be like Katherine and jump from one brother to the next. I needed time to figure out my feelings for you; to figure out my feelings in general. Then you tell me you love me and make me rethink everything."

"What are you saying?" he asked, finally finding his voice.

"I'm saying that I have feelings for you; feelings that run much deeper than friendship. However, it would be selfish of me to tell you how I really feel because..."

"Because?" he asked, wanting desperately to hear her say those three little words.

He noticed the tears collecting in her eyes and his heart nearly broke upon hearing her next words. "Because I'm the doppelganger and it's only a matter of time before Klaus either kills me or everyone I care about."

And they were back to that again. "Damn it, Elena. Nothing is going to happen to anyone except for Klaus and Katherine. They are the ones that are going to die."

"Don't-" she started, shaking her head in protest. He moved forward and cupped her face in both of his hands, wiping her tears away with the pads of this thumbs. "Don't make promises you can't keep."

He felt himself beginning to drown in the depths of her brown eyes. She was everything to him and more. "Then I can promise you that I will always love you and that I will try to keep you safe. Whatever the cost."

Elena took a series of deep breaths as she gazed into his piercing blue eyes. She knew that if she didn't tell him now, she never would. The last thing she wanted was to never get the chance to tell him how she really felt. In a twisted way, she would be no better than Katherine. With one last deep breath, Elena's lips parted to whisper, "I love you too, Damon."

While the words sank in, Damon's lips crashed down on hers. He moved forward until she was pinned between his body and the exterior of the house. She kissed him back with frenzied kisses, both of them hungry for one another. She jumped slightly as he lifted her legs, enabling her to wrap them around his waist. Her hands dove into his hair while his dug into her side. For the first time, kissing him felt right. She felt whole, like she had found her other half. No longer did it feel like a stolen kiss that would make her just like Katherine. This was real. It was an expression of love; something they both needed.

He trailed his kisses to her ear as his hands slid up her shirt, running up and down her smooth skin. "Say it again," he whispered.

"I love you," she panted, trying her best to get air into her deprived lungs.

He pressed himself against her and she shuddered at the feel of his arousal against her core. His lips moved to claims hers once more as his hands moved from her sides to her breasts. She moaned softly into the kiss which only made him harder for her. They both knew that if they didn't stop soon, they weren't going to be able to. Elena was the first to withdraw, roughly turning her head to the side. "Not here," she managed to say, her voice ragged.

He nodded and left his cheek pressed against hers until he trusted himself enough to move. Carefully, he lowered her back to the ground and pulled away from her. "Where do we go from here?"

"I don't know," she answered. "We'll figure it out," she added and turned to open the front door. Before her hand ever touched the knob, the door was thrown open to reveal her brother on the other side. Her eyes went wide in alarm at the sight of the bloodied bandage on the side of his neck. "Jeremy?"

"Thank God you guys are here," he said, ignoring her unstated question.

"What's wrong?" Damon asked, sensing the worry in his voice.

"It's Stefan."

"What about him?" Elena asked, feeling her blood turn to ice as her heart skipped a beat. Whatever Jeremy was about to say, she knew it wasn't going to be good.

"I messed up. I thought I would be able to get in and get the moonstone without getting hurt, but I was wrong."

Elena's skin went pale as she stared at Jeremy in horror. "Katherine did this?"

He nodded briefly. "I had the ring so no matter how many times she drained me, I always came back. She was about to pull the ring off and Stefan-"

"No!" Elena cried, knowing exactly where this conversation was going. "No!"

He knees gave out, but Damon caught her before she hit the ground. "I'm so sorry, Elena. Bonnie tried to get the barrier down but she passed out and now Stefan's stuck in the tomb with Katherine."

Elena heard him, but his words barely registered. She clung to Damon in order to keep herself up. She wanted to see him and make sure he was okay, but the thought of him being lost forever in the tomb made her cry even harder. "Are you going to be okay?" Damon asked Jeremy as he picked Elena up, bridal style.

"I'll heal," he answered.

Damon nodded and moved into the house. Without another word, he carried Elena up to her bedroom and laid her down on the bed. After removing their shoes, he crawled in beside her and took her into his arms again. She cried onto his chest until she couldn't cry anymore. Eventually, exhaustion won and sleep claimed them both.


	12. By the Light of the Moon part 1

**a/n: Sorry for the delay guys! It's not that this chapter was hard to write, it was that I couldn't find a good place to stop. I kept getting ideas and it ended up being so long that I was able to split it in two. I'll have the second part up in a few days...and then...nothing (unfortunately). The good news: Zoraya Windwalker, my lovely beta, will be returning soon and I'll have new stories to fill the six weeks of no new TVD episodes! :)**

**Speaking of...I actually could use some help with them. I am working on Caught in the Middle and the pace is slower than I would like. I know what I want to write, but can't seem to make it work, so any suggestions/ideas would be wonderful. I am going to do a sequel to Within Temptation and I'm thinking of bringing Klaus into it...thoughts? If you guys want, I'm also willing to hear your suggestions/ideas for that story as well. Then of course, there's the wedding story I keep promising, hopefully I'll be finished with that one soon. Last, but not least, I have a story that will be playing around with the werewolf legend. You'll just have to read it to find out what I'm up to ;)**

**Alright, now that I've filled you in on what I've been up to, I can shut up and let you enjoy the chapter!**

**p.s. Thanks a bunch to BadBoysAreBest for helping me with this episode! (although the question I asked won't arrive until part two).**

TWELVE

Elena was jolted from sleep, instantly rising up on her elbows. She scanned the room trying to figure out why something felt off and then realized that the bed beside her was empty. Not even a second later, Damon stepped through her window and did a double take at the sight of her staring back at him. "Where did you go?" she asked, her voice still raspy from her breakdown the previous night.

He remained silent until he was lying next to her. "I went to see Stefan."

"And you didn't wake me...why?"

"Because I wanted to check on my brother without having to worry about you doing something stupid."

"I wouldn't-"

"Sorry Sweetheart, you've given me too much evidence to the contrary."

Elena sighed, knowing he was right. Deciding it was best not to argue, she laid back down and turned her head to look at him. "How is he?"

Damon thought of the best way to word his answer. "He's fine, I guess."

"Fine?"

He shrugged. "He's locked in the tomb with Katherine. So far everything seems to be fine."

"What about blood?"

"I'm not going to let him starve, Elena," he said. The tone of his voice caused her eyes to narrow. "Katherine told me that if I was going to bring blood for Stefan, I had to bring enough to share with the entire class. She told me if I didn't, she would kill him."

Elena rolled her eyes. "No she won't."

Damon nodded in agreement. "I give it a few more hours before they start getting reacquainted."

Elena stared at him, trying to figure out his meaning. The moment it clicked, she felt her heart drop into her stomach. Damon shuddered inwardly, knowing he shouldn't have said anything. "It's not like we're together anymore," she mumbled and turned her face away from Damon to stare at the ceiling.

Damon knew she was talking more to herself than to him. "We'll get him out."

"How?"

"I don't know exactly, but we will."

"Then Katherine will be out too."

"Then we'll just have to kill her like we originally planned."

Elena shook her head. "You and I both know that neither of you will kill her."

Damon said nothing; she was right. Instead, he decided on a not-so-subtle subject change. "So about the Rose situation..." Elena turned to look at him again, one of her brows cocked as she waited for his explanation. "She was just a distraction."

"From what?"

"You."

Elena was taken aback by his quick response. She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks as she took a deep breath. She didn't know what to say to that. She wasn't even sure if there _was_ anything she could say to that.

"I thought I had compelled you to forget and I needed something that would get you off my mind. Because in all honesty, I wanted to come back here, compel you to remember, and-" he stopped to smirk at her, making her blush deeply. "Well, I'm sure you can fill in the blanks."

Elena shook her head, trying to hold back her smile; failing miserably. Only Damon could take a sweet moment and make it dirty. "To be honest, if I had seen you that night, I probably would have staked you. I was angry that you tried to make me forget."

"Really? You were angry about it?" he asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "I couldn't tell."

This time, Elena changed the subject, catching him completely off guard. "I was coming down the stairs to you, just so you know."

"You were?"

She nodded slowly. "I don't know when this started, but I feel safe when I'm in your arms." She felt the heat rising back to her cheeks. She cursed herself for blushing so easily. "You had killed that man that was probably going to kill all of us and you came to rescue me. I wanted to feel safe, but Stefan stepped in the way."

Damon snorted. "Story of my life," he muttered. Inside, he was feeling warm and triumphant. She had wanted him; not Stefan.

"Look, I'm sorry for what I did yesterday. I know it was little rash, but-"

"Which part?" he teased.

She made a face at him and sighed. "Everything. I really thought turning myself over would be best, but Rose brought up a good point. Even if Klaus got to use me as a sacrifice, there was nothing saying that he wouldn't go after my family anyway."

"And you didn't even say goodbye," he reminded her, trying not to show how much that affected him.

"I wouldn't have been able to go through with it if I had to say goodbye to anyone. Especially to you and Stefan because you would have seen right through me."

"Damn straight."

"And I know I overreacted about the Rose thing, but I do find it a little strange. I'm over it now."

"Don't worry, the next time I see her, I'm going to try my hardest to repay her for leaving us." Normally the cold edge to his voice would have left Elena feeling a bit unnerved, but at the moment, she felt nothing.

"One last apology," she said and offered him a small smile as she adjusted her body so that she was lying on her side to face him. "I'm sorry for completely losing it when Jeremy told me about Stefan and I'm really glad that you were there."

He grinned. "Girls always go weak at the knees around me."

Elena rolled her eyes, letting a smile take hold of her lips. "Just promise that you won't catch anyone but me." It was meant to be a tease, but it changed the atmosphere around them dramatically.

The humor in Damon's eyes dimmed and he reached out for the hand that wasn't propping her head up. "Speaking of," he started and laced his fingers with hers. "Where exactly do we stand with each other?"

Elena stared at him, trying to find the right words. "I want to be with you, but-"

"No," he interrupted and shook his head the best he could. "There are not buts."

"There are very powerful vampires after me, Damon. We don't know when they'll show up, but I know it will be soon. For all we know, tomorrow could be our last day together and I don't think it's right that we start something that..." her voice trailed off as he shook his head again.

"That's exactly why we should be together. I didn't try this hard just to almost be with you."

She squeezed his hand and gave a slight nod. He wasn't going to take no for an answer. "I just..." she sighed softly, not able to find the right words. "I want to be with you," she repeated. "But I'm not the type of girl to jump into bed with someone right off the bat."

He stared at her for a moment before a smirk took hold of his mouth. "Technically..."

Elena let go of his hand to shove him playfully. "Damon, I'm trying to be serious here."

He continued to smirk, but nodded his understanding. "I meant what I said Elena, we can take it slow." A grin spread across her face and he narrowed his eyes. "I swear, if you start laughing, I'm out of here."

"No laughing, I promise," she said although the grin remained on her face.

Damon reached for her hand again and re-laced their fingers. "If you want the dates and the romance, then that's exactly what you'll get," he informed her, his voice low.

Never in Elena's wildest imaginations had she ever thought something like that would come out of his mouth. It made her blush again. However, the sensation was short lived as she thought of the dark times that lie ahead of them. "Damon," she said firmly, wanting him to hear her out. "I do want that, but with everything that's going on-"

"We'll make time," he interrupted again, this time giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "We'll take it slow for now and when this is all over, we'll take some time away from Mystic Falls."

Elena drew in a breath and cleared her throat. "There is one thing that I want to do before we make this official."

Damon just stared at her. "I'm not going to like this am I?"

She offered him a smile and mouthed the word no. "I want to tell Stefan about us."

"Why?"

"Because it's the right thing to do and you know it."

Damon sighed, knowing she was right. Stefan deserved to hear about it from them before someone else spilled the beans. The fact that Elena brought it up just reminded him why he loved her as much as he did. "On one condition." One of her brows rose, waiting to hear what he had to say. "What did Katherine have to say to you?"

"She told me about her family. She told me how she had a child and her father forced her to give it away within seconds of it's birth. She told me about Klaus and the other vampires and how she turned." Elena paused, not really wanting to tell him what Katherine had said about him and his brother. "Then I asked her a few personal questions that I don't want to talk about right now."

"Why not?"

Elena bit her lip, searching for the best way to answer him. "Think of it as girl bonding."

"You _bonded_ with her? Over what?" he asked before realization kicked in. "Oh."

Elena gave him the condensed version of what she and Katherine had discussed about the brothers. "When she told me she hadn't compelled Stefan's love because she wanted it to be real with him, it reminded me of you." She paused, feeling a little heat rise to her cheeks. "When we were in Georgia, you said the exact same thing to me. The moment I heard those words coming out of her mouth, I knew she was telling the truth."

"See, I told you she made her choice," he mumbled.

She reached out and cupped his face. "Hey, it doesn't matter anymore, right?"

"Right," he agreed and turned to kiss her palm before removing it and lacing their fingers together again. "Soul mates, huh?" he mused. He had always been under the impression that he didn't have a soul anymore.

Elena nodded and decided that everything that needed to be discussed had been. Instead, she simply stared at him, gazing into his eyes and tracing circles against the base of his thumb. Fortunately, he was content with doing the exact same thing. A small smile graced her lips as the desire to kiss him rose within her. It was strange, to be this close to him and know that she could kiss him without any guilty feelings.

"Elena?" he questioned, as if he could see the debate going on in her mind.

"Yeah?"

"What are you thinking about?"

"You," she replied and felt the beginnings of yet another blush rising to her cheeks.

His brow arched at that. "What about me, exactly?"

Elena let go of his hand and lifted her head in order to move a little bit closer to him. "I want..." she started, her voice low.

He mirrored her every move, stopping when his face was only inches from hers. "What do you want, Elena?"

Instead of telling him, she decided to show him. Swiftly, she closed the gap between them and pressed her lips softly against his. Damon was slightly surprised by her initiation. He had been expecting her to be hesitant and let him take control. This was an interesting new development and he had to admit; he liked this side of her. Her tongue darted out and ran across his lips, asking for entrance. Damon parted his lips to grant her access and his tongue moved to greet hers.

While their mouths moved as one, Damon looped an arm around her waist and pulled her over top of him. She straddled his abdomen and cupped his face; her hair forming a shield around them. His hands rested idly on her hips as he returned her kiss in full. It was much different than any of their other kisses. Instead of being fueled by forbidden passion, it was comfortable and exploratory. While it certainly wasn't their first kiss, it was the first one where they weren't trying to rip each other's clothes off. There was still a need there, but this time it was a need for connection.

Elena slowed the kiss and finally moved her mouth from his, needing to breathe. She propped herself up on her elbows and smiled down at him. "Will you still be here in the morning?" she asked in a soft voice.

One of his hands moved from her hips to cup her face. "Now that Elijah's alive and you may have alerted Klaus about your existence means that I am never going to leave your side," he informed her. Elena knew he wasn't joking from the serious look in his eyes and the tone of his voice.

Instead of arguing with him, she nodded and slid off of his body to lay by his side. Just as they always did, she placed her arm around his waist while his went underneath her head. Elena placed her head in the crook of his shoulder and got as close to him as she could. Without either of them saying another word, Elena closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep again.

* * *

This time, when Elena woke up, there was sunlight streaming through the windows and an arm fastened securely around her waist. She opened her eyes and smiled at the sight of Damon. They hadn't moved an inch during their slumber. Just as she decided to lay there for a bit longer, she heard Jenna and Jeremy arguing loudly downstairs. She sighed heavily; if Jeremy was up, then it was way past time for Elena to get out of bed. Unfortunately, Damon's hands were laced together and he was just as strong asleep as he was awake; he wouldn't budge.

Elena grinned and hooked her leg over his waist, pulling herself up so that she was straddling him. Almost immediately, she felt him stir beneath her. His hands separated and moved to rest on her hips. "Morning," she said as his eyes opened.

"Morning," he returned.

She offered him another smile and continued to slide off of him to get off the bed. She gasped as he tightened his hold and used his speed to pin her down on the mattress beneath him. "Damon!" she hissed, trying not to laugh.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked, smirking down at her.

"To take a shower." His eyes glistened with mischief. "Alone," she added, smirking back at him.

"I don't think you were listening to me last night," he said, brushing the hair off of her face, tucking it behind her ears.

She narrowed her eyes in curiosity. "I don't..."

"I said I wasn't going to let you out of my sight."

Elena shook her head and playfully smacked his shoulder. "Ha, ha. That does not include the shower," she informed him. She smiled and raised herself enough to kiss his lips briefly. "At least not this time."

Damon groaned at her words; that small hint of eventually seeing her naked was enough to make him hard. After all this time of imagining what it would be like to have her, the reality was making him impatient. He had promised her slow, but truth be told, he didn't know if he would be able to keep that pace.

"Damon?" her voice drew him from his thoughts, the tone of it making him realize it wasn't the first time she had called for him. One of her hands was cupping the side of his face, her thumb brushing over his cheek softly.

Instead of answering her, he lowered his lips down to hers. Her body molded to his instantly and she was able to feel his fully erect member hitting her core. A smile formed on her lips, but she never broke the kiss. Damon was the one to do that, moving his lips to ear to whisper, "You know, we would be saving the planet if we showered together. Water conservation and all that."

Elena laughed at that and shoved him off of her. She got to her feet and shook her head at him. "Not this time," she insisted and went to her dresser to collect fresh clothes.

"But eventually?" he asked as she moved to the closet.

Elena turned to give him an impish smile and shrugged her shoulders before closing the door to the bathroom. Damon groaned again and turned to lie on his back, staring up at the ceiling. There was a smile on his face; a genuine smile that left him feeling strange. He wondered how Elena would react to him in public. Would she refuse to acknowledge that they were together? Would she let him hold her hand? Kiss her when people were watching?

Damon sat up and forced away those thoughts. He had no reason to doubt her; if she was ashamed to be with him, she wouldn't have agreed to start a relationship. With that, Damon headed downstairs. Since he had spent the night more than a few times, he knew Jenna wouldn't give him the third degree when he walked into the kitchen. Although, given the recent turn of events, he couldn't help but feel a little awkward. Just before he left Elena's room, he heard Jenna saying goodbye to Jeremy. Damon thought it was best if she left before he made an appearance.

Jeremy did a double take as Damon entered the kitchen. "You're still here?" he asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Jeremy stared at him for a moment and then shrugged. "Coffee?" he offered, letting Damon's question go unanswered.

"Sure."

"Jenna made it."

Damon's nose wrinkled automatically. "Never mind."

Jeremy snickered and nodded in agreement. "That's what I said when she offered."

Damon leaned against the island and studied Jeremy. "Good to see that your ring healed you."

"Yeah. I can't imagine what I would have said to Jenna." Jeremy leaned against the fridge and tipped his head up to the ceiling, making sure that the shower was still running. He looked back at Damon and took a deep breath. "Can I say something to you?"

"Is this about your sister?" Damon asked, having heard the serious note in the younger boy's voice. It was clear Jeremy was about to deliver the "you break my sister's heart, I'll break your neck" speech.

Jeremy nodded and Damon motioned for him to continue. "I know that you and Elena have been spending more time together than usual. She cares about you and you obviously care about her, but she's been in danger more times than anyone because of you and your brother. I know you won't hurt her and I trust that you'll keep her safe. I've said this to Elena before, but if you can get her to care about you, then there must be something good beneath the surface. What I'm really worried about is that you're known to be a womanizer. If you're going to be with my sister, you can't break her heart."

"I was never planning on letting Elena go nor was I planning on hurting her," Damon said.

Jeremy inclined his head and smirked. "As cliched as this is, I have to say it." Damon nodded and smirked back at him. "If you break her heart, I'll have to stake you."

"I would love to see you try."

Jeremy grinned. "I'll just let Jenna do it."

Damon's face became serious at that. "Well played. You have my word, Gilbert. If I break Elena's heart, you are more than welcome to stake me."

As Jeremy filled Damon in on what happened at the tomb in his absence, Elena finished her shower and dressed for the day. Both men stopped talking the minute she walked into the room. "What?" she asked, looking back and forth between the two.

"Nothing," Jeremy said although he was smirking. "I'll leave you two alone. See you later," he added and disappeared through the back door.

"What would you like to do today?"

"I would like to go see Stefan. We can take him a few things and give him some blood."

Damon crossed the kitchen and took her hands in his. "You don't have to see him."

"But-"

"While I would love nothing more than for you to tell him before I ruin it with an inappropriate comment, I know you don't want an audience."

"Audie- Oh," she said and sighed. She had almost forgotten about Katherine being in the tomb as well. Almost. "Are you sure about waiting?"

This time, Damon's head cocked to the side. "What do you mean?"

"I want him to hear it from us first."

Damon nodded, finally understanding her meaning. "Then I guess I have the extra motivation to get him out of the tomb."

Elena took a deep breath, knowing she had hurt him a little. "I don't want to hide our relationship, but imagine if the roles were reversed. You would want us to respect you in the same way, right?"

Damon pulled her to him and kissed her forehead, wrapping his arms securely around her body. "This is one of the many reasons why I love you."

Those words made Elena feel warm and fuzzy inside and she couldn't help but blush. Again. She circled his waist with her arms and squeezed lightly. "Thank you for understanding."

Fighting the urge to hoist her onto the island counter, Damon pulled out of her embrace and gave her a small smile. "I won't be gone long, okay?"

"What happened to never letting me out of your sight?" she challenged.

"Only in a perfect world," he quipped. She smiled and he leaned in to kiss her gently. "I'll be back shortly," he said and Elena followed him to the front door, standing there to watch him until his car was out of sight.

She lingered in the frame for a moment longer than she meant to. As she started to shut the door, the air stirred, catching her hair in a breeze. Elena jumped back at the sight of Elijah on the other side of the threshold. "Oh good, you're alive."

Instinctively, Elena took a step back, finding it very reassuring that he couldn't get in. "What do you want?"

"Invite me in and I'll tell you."

She shook her head rapidly. "I'm not letting you in. I'm not an idiot."

"Yesterday might prove otherwise," he taunted and looked over his shoulder. "Let me in or I'll follow the Carmero."

Elena's heart skipped two beats in a row before she felt it sink into her stomach. She knew he would carry out his threat and go after Damon. "C-come in," she whispered, her voice broken.

He smiled and stepped into the house, closing the door behind him. "Why thank you, Elena."

"What do you want?" she asked, taking a few steps back.

"To make a deal with you," he answered, staying close to the door as a sign of peace.

"A deal?"

He nodded briefly. "You know from Katerina's experiences that Klaus will lash out at you if you try and defeat him. He wants the moonstone and he wants you. If either of those two things were to go missing, he would tear your friends and family limb from limb. I'm here to tell you that Klaus is one of the few vampires that want the curse lifted from that stone."

Elena's eyes widened at that. "I thought more vampires would want it gone."

He shook his head. "Werewolves are slaves to the full moon. If the curse were lifted, the tables would turn and they would have a real shot at being in charge, so-to-speak."

"Oh," Elena said. It did make sense to her in a weird sort of way. "Is that why you killed those men?"

Elijah nodded again. "I don't want anything to happen to you either. I have my reasons, reasons that I do not wish to share with you at the moment," he explained before she could ask. "If you stop trying to get Klaus' attention, I will make sure your loved ones are safe upon his arrival. Do you accept?"

Elena studied him, trying to decide if he was a man of his word like Damon or if he was only out for himself like Katherine. "On one condition," she said, proof that Damon was already rubbing off on her.

Elijah's brows rose at that. "You're negotiating?"

"Yes."

His lips curved into a smile and he inclined his head. "What is your condition?"

"I want Stefan out of that tomb. You get him out and I will sit back and stop trying to turn myself in."

Elijah nodded. "I will get Stefan out of the tomb and I promise to keep your loved ones safe," he said and extended his hand. Elena moved cautiously and took his hand firmly in hers. As she let go of his hand, he stepped back towards the door and opened it. "Pleasure doing business with you Elena," he said and in the next instant, he was gone.


	13. By the Light of the Moon part 2

**a/n: So I managed to stretch it out and make a part three! Yay! But there won't be any more after that. The ending I wrote finally felt like an ending. :) Hopefully you guys like this as much as you liked part one :)**

**And I'm officially over 300 reviews! That's a personal best. You guys are amazing. :)**

**Again, special thanks to BadBoysAreBest who helped me decide on an ending :)**

**p.s. I know it might seem a little OOC to have Delena be all lovey-dovey, but they've been wanting this for some time now and they don't have to hide it anymore. In my mind, it's justified. Hopefully you guys agree :)**

THIRTEEN

It was already mid afternoon; they had slept in rather late and Damon knew he had spent more time with Stefan than he had planned. He also knew he should have called Elena after the first hour that he was gone. He knew his brother kept talking because it was his break from Katherine. If roles had been reversed, Damon was certain one of them would be dead right now, but he wasn't so sure it would have been her. After two hours of talking to Stefan, Damon was able to say goodbye and head back to Elena. He was quite surprised that he had managed to keep from gloating or saying anything at all about himself and Elena to Stefan.

When he returned, he found Elena pacing the length of her bedroom. The moment she saw him, she made a beeline towards the window and clung to him. It took him a moment before he returned her hold. Only then did he notice that she was trembling. "Elena? What's wrong?" The small hairs on the back of his neck were standing up.

Elena had been pacing since Elijah left. She had been debating on telling Damon about the deal she had made or just keeping it to herself. She rubbed her face against his chest and tightened her hold. "Elijah," she whispered, deciding that keeping this from him would be foolish.

Damon stilled, trying to get control of his anger. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" Damon pulled back enough so he could see her face. Instead of letting her answer, he said, "Of course he didn't hurt you because you didn't let him in, right?"

Elena bit her lower lip, her eyes beginning to water. Instead of breaking down like he thought she would do, she pulled away and glared at him. "He said if I didn't let him in, he would go after you. We made the deal and then you didn't come back and I thought-"

Damon cursed himself for not calling. He pulled her back into his arms and moved his hand up and down her back in a soothing rhythm. "It didn't feel right to just drop off the bag and leave him. He looked so needy so I stayed and gave him someone else to talk to. I'm so sorry Elena, I didn't know."

She nodded against his chest. "How is he?" she asked, changing the subject.

"As good as he can be for being locked in a tomb with a psychotic ex."

"He won't be in there for long," she said.

Damon pulled back again. Last night, she had questioned their ability to get Stefan out and now she sounded confident that it would happen. One of his brows rose as he looked at her. "Oh?"

"The deal I made with Elijah. Getting Stefan out of the tomb was part of it."

Damon was a little shocked that he had almost forgotten about the deal. "I think you should explain the terms of this deal to me."

Elena pulled out of his embrace again and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. "Elijah said he would protect my loved ones when Klaus came if I promised to stop drawing attention to myself. I said I would if he got Stefan out."

Damon blinked a few times. Not at all what he was expecting. "That...is a good deal. What makes you think he'll keep his end of the bargain?"

"The fact that he's had the chance to kill us more than once and we're still here," she replied.

Damon nodded, he couldn't argue with that. As he moved towards the bed, his phone rang, causing him to stop mid walk. He answered it to Alaric. "Yes Ric?"

"There's a woman in town asking about Mason. Tyler was just here. He told Caroline that she came to his house." He paused for a moment. "And I think she just walked in."

"You think or you know?"

Alaric was silent, making Damon impatient. His free hand balled into a fist while he waited. "I know. She just pulled out his picture and asked the bartender about him."

"Think she's a were?" he asked and Elena's eyes widened.

"She might be."

Damon sighed and his gaze settled on Elena. Her eyes were wide and pleading. She knew from the expression on his face that he was thinking of going out again. "Think you can handle it on your own?"

Elena visibly relaxed before him. "Um, I can try. What do you want me to do?"

"I don't know. Just keep an eye on her, approach her, I don't care. Just don't get killed, okay?" Damon instructed and returned the phone to his pocket.

As his lips parted to explain, Elena got to her feet and shook her head. "I don't want to know."

"Actually, you do," he said. "There's a woman from Florida that's asking about Mason."

At that, Elena's memory kicked in. "Tyler!" she exclaimed. "It's a full moon tonight and-"

"Don't worry, Caroline said she would help him."

Elena nodded, her heart aching for the boy. From what Caroline had told her during their late night visits, the change was something painful. "Okay."

Silence fell around them until Damon spoke again. "Alright, we're going to the boarding house."

"Why?"

"Because I want to be somewhere where I don't have to worry about other people coming and going. No one is supposed to be there except me for the moment. It's the easiest way to keep you safe."

Elena stared at him. "And what exactly are we going to do there?"

Damon couldn't resist. He smirked and raised his shoulders. "I have plenty of things in mind," he said suggestively and winked at her.

Elena rolled her eyes and shook her head, a smile on her face the entire time. "You're incorrigible," she muttered and began walking towards the door.

Damon stopped her by looping an arm around her waist. "Where do you think you're going?"

She stared up at him in confusion, her hands resting on her shoulders to steady herself. "I thought we were going to the boarding house?"

"We are, but I think you should bring a change of clothes." Instead of saying anything, Elena let one of her brows rise in question. Damon brought a hand up and tucked her hair behind one of her ears. "I want to wake up to you in _my_ bed."

Elena felt warmth spread throughout her body, especially her cheeks. "Okay," she whispered and then cleared her throat. "You'll have to let me go first." Damon smirked and released her so that she could pack an overnight bag. He watched her with curiosity as she only packed undergarments and a pair of flats. When she looked at him again, she paused. "What?"

"Not that I'm complaining, I just didn't think you were the type of girl who walked around the house in nothing but underwear."

Elena looked at him, not wanting to kill the mood with what she had to say. "I still have some stuff in Stefan's room. I guess this would be a good time to get it back. I know it's clean because I just put it there not too long ago."

Damon decided to let that be the end of that conversation. He nodded and extended his arm for her to take. She twined their fingers together and followed him downstairs. Once they were on the road, Damon spoke. "Are you hungry?"

"Yes," she answered almost immediately. She hadn't eaten all day being that she was worried about Damon and the fact that she had woken up rather late.

Damon smiled. "What would you like?"

"At this point, I don't care. You choose," she answered and Damon was very happy she wasn't picky like most girls. Unfortunately, that meant he had to go out of his way, making it that much longer before they were alone in the mansion. Although, as long as she was with him, he truly didn't mind. He ended up getting the closest thing to the boarding house which was Chinese. Elena's eyes widened when he returned to the car and made her hold the bags in her lap. "I thought you said there wasn't anyone else there?"

"There isn't."

Elena rolled her eyes; boys and their appetites. "Oookay," she said and shifted in the seat to get more comfortable. Once they were at the manor, Damon helped her carry the food in and began setting the containers on the island counter while she got the plates. She snickered while he loaded his plate with as much food as it could hold and then reached for a fork. "No chopsticks?" she teased.

"I'm starving. Chopsticks take too much effort," he explained and sighed when he saw her stiffen. "I'm not hungry for _that_, Elena."

She nodded and grabbed her plate before following him into the parlor. He sat on one side of the couch while she sat on the other. The moment she sat down, she groaned. "I forgot the-" Before she could finish the sentence, the air around her stirred and there were two glasses filled with soda on the coffee table before them. "Thanks."

"Welcome," he replied and began wolfing down his food.

Elena smiled and started eating. Neither of them said a word, choosing to simply sit there and enjoyed each other's company. By the time Elena was finished, Damon still had a quarter of his plate left. He stopped eating as she stood up. "I'm gonna go get my stuff," she explained.

Damon nodded and watched her until she was out of view. Elena made her way up to Stefan's room and pushed open the door carefully. She stayed in the hallway and looked around, remembering the last time she had been inside. With a sigh, Elena straightened up and crossed the room to the trunk at the foot of the bed. She lifted the lid and pulled the small pile of clothes out, letting them rest in the crook of her arm. With that, she wandered into the on suite bathroom to retrieve her toothbrush and a few other bathroom products Stefan had bought for her.

She exited the room faster than she had entered it, closing the door behind her. As she looked at the few doors that littered the hallway, she realized she had no idea which one belonged to Damon. And that was exactly how he found her; standing in the middle of the hallway looking lost and confused.

"Elena?" he called softly.

She seemed to shake herself out of her daze and looked at him. "Sorry," she said apologetically and shifted her weight. "I guess I should have asked which one was yours first."

He grinned and took her things before tilting his head, indicating for her to follow him. The moment she stepped inside, her eyes went wide with awe. The room was definitely Damon. It was elegantly decorated with the perfect blend of traditional and contemporary styles. It was manly, but there was a slight womanly touch. Damon placed her things on the desk and leaned against the piece of furniture. He watched her walk around the room, inspecting everything with a childlike wonder.

"This is the size of my house. Or at least the first story."

"It's not that big," he commented although in truth, it wasn't that much smaller. "Perks of being the eldest."

Elena pouted at that as her index finger trailed down the spine of one of his books. "I wish. Somehow Jeremy ended up with the bigger room." She dropped her hand and turned to look at him. Her gaze slipped past him to the bathroom door that was ajar and she pouted again. "Good God, does every room have its own private bath?"

"Yes," he answered and smirked when she glared at him.

"So not fair," she mumbled and then returned his smirk. "At least you have good taste. I always thought your room would just be a black hole."

"You've imagined what my room would look like?" he asked.

Elena blushed; of course he would pick up on that. "Maybe."

"And you thought it would be nothing but black? I'm offended," he added.

She just looked at him, waiting for him to continue. Elena straightened up as she started crossing the room, a hint of his predatory nature in his eyes. "Well..."

"Is it because I'm a vampire?" he teased.

"I always assumed black was your favorite color. You wear it more than Jeremy."

His jaw dropped and he placed his hand over his heart, pretending to be shocked. "I'm hurt Elena," he said as he stopped in front of her. "Black is not my favorite color."

"Alright," Elena said and lifted her chin up. "What's your favorite color then?"

He grinned at that and took a step forward, causing her to take one back. He continued until her back was pressed against the wall. "Blue, like the color of my eyes because it's irresistible."

Elena rolled her eyes. She had been expecting something profound; something to show insight to the man behind the vampire. Instead, she got a cheesy pick-up line of sorts. "You are so full of-"

Damon cut her off by cupping her face and bringing his lips to hers. All the nervousness that she had had about being alone with him went away. All she could think about now was how his body felt pressed against hers and the way their mouths moved as one. Elena wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss as his hands slid down until they reached her hips. He grabbed onto her and lifted so that she could wrap her legs around him. Elena moaned softly as he pushed her harder against the wall to ensure that she wouldn't fall.

Just as Elena began to relax, Damon pulled her away from the wall and the next thing she knew, they were on the bed. Elena let her hands roam over his back, her nails scraping at the material of his shirt. His lips moved to her neck so that she could breathe, his blunt teeth nipping at her flesh every once in awhile. Elena bent her knees, cradling his body to hers. She revealed in the sound of Damon's moan as their bodies got as close as they could without him being inside her.

Without thinking, Damon pulled back slightly, drawing her with him so that he could remove her shirt. As he stared down at her he realized what he had done and he knew if he didn't stop now, he never would. "I'm sorry," he said and began to move away.

Elena locked her ankles behind his back faster than he thought she could move. "If I want you to stop, I'll tell you," she informed him, her voice husky with desire.

"That's the thing, Elena. You can tell me all you want, but I don't trust myself. I've been dreaming about this for so long..." his voice trailed off and he ran his fingers over her cheek.

Elena's head tilted to the side for a second before she reached up and pulled his face back down to hers. She kissed him lightly and then trailed her lips to his ear. Gently, she nibbled at his lobe and felt the shudder that ran through his body. "I want you, Damon. I have for quite awhile now."

If he wasn't hard before, he was stiff as a board hearing that. She placed another kiss on his cheek and laid back down, her hands caressing his biceps. He gazed into her eyes, searching for something that even he wasn't sure of. "Are you sure?"

Elena sighed and placed her feet back on the bed. "If you don't want to-"

He interrupted her again with another kiss. "No, I want to," he assured her before kissing her deeply. "I just want to make sure that you do."

"Then what are you waiting for?"

What was he waiting for? His inner voice was screaming at him to shut up and take her already. She was ready and willing in _his_ bed just as he had imagined thousands of times before. Needing no further encouragement, he leaned in and captured her lips once more. Immediately, the air began to sizzle and each touch sent sparks flying. The passion that both of them felt took over and they allowed themselves to feed the growing desire.

Elena removed his shirt while he tore her undershirt from her. Her hands roamed his chest for the first time. She had always imagined what his skin would feel like beneath her fingers. She remembered the time she helped him button his shirt for the bachelor charity event, she had been more than tempted to touch him. She almost whined as he moved out of reach while kissing his way down her throat. Damon's lips found her collarbone and sucked on the skin, causing her body to arch into his. Slowly, he moved his kisses lower and lower until they were touching the fabric of her bra. Her eyes fluttered as his tongue dove behind the material and swept across her nipple.

"What the hell is going on?" came Stefan's voice, making the couple spring apart.

Elena was breathing heavily as she scrambled to sit up, her eyes focused on Stefan with horror. She had planned on telling him, but not like this. This was the worst case scenario. "Stefan..." she breathed.

Her heart nearly shattered as he looked at her and then Damon. There was betrayal written all over his face. There was also anger. The evidence was in the way his eyes darkened and his face rippled with veins that wanted to stand out. Damon noticed and got to his feet. "Out," he demanded to his younger brother.

"Stefan, just let me explain," Elena pleaded as she got to her feet, but stayed behind Damon.

"You don't need to explain anything, Elena. I think you made yourself perfectly clear although you are somewhat of a hypocrite."

Elena's jaw dropped in horror and she had to remind herself that he was hurt and that was why he was lashing out. Before she could get the chance to say anything, he used his vampiric speed to exit the room. Damon relaxed and turned to gather her in his arms. "He's gone," he said having heard the front door slam. From the force, Damon suspected that the door may have been broken.

Elena was trembling as she clung to him. "I..." she tired to speak, but nothing came out.

Damon stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head. "It's my fault. I should have heard him come in. I shouldn't have-"

She shook her head against his chest and then tried to step away. "I have to find him and explain things."

"No you don't. You're not going anywhere near him. Let him calm down a little. He's very angry and he just started drinking human blood again. That combination is likely to get you killed." He paused and held onto her shoulders. "Please?"

She nodded in defeat and he pulled her back into his arms. After her heart rate had returned to normal and the tears were gone from her eyes, Damon released his hold and gathered their clothes from the floor. "At least now we know Elijah keeps his word," Elena mumbled after pulling on the shirt Damon hadn't destroyed.

Damon didn't say anything, he simply sat on the bed using the headboard as a backrest. He pointed to the TV when Elena looked at him funny and her eyes went wide again. "I have plenty of movies."

"Why didn't I see that before?" she asked, more to herself than anything. On the wall opposite the bed was a flat screen TV. There really wasn't any explanation for why or how she had missed it until a picture slid over the big screen. "Oh."

Damon nodded and waved the remote at her. "I don't always want to look at it so I hide it when I want."

"How high tech of you," Elena replied as she moved to the other side of the bed. She chose to lay on her side and use Damon's stomach as a pillow.

"What would you like to watch?"

"I don't care," she answered, adjusting until she was completely comfortable.

With that, Damon began flipping through channels. Without her having to say anything, Damon remembered what she had said last time; no horror, comedy, or romance. Once again, that didn't leave him with much to choose from. When he finally chose a movie on Starz, Elena maneuvered her body so she could look at him. "What?" he asked.

"Enchanted?"

Damon sighed and placed his hand on her side, gently rolling her back to her original position. "Then you pick something."

"No, this is good," she said and smiled to herself. "I just didn't know you liked Disney."

"I happen to have a thing for Amy Adams," he informed her.

Elena's smile turned into a smirk. "Uh huh."

Neither of them said anything as they turned their attention to the movie. Damon's hand was massaging her side absently and it brought back the feeling of arousal that had been cut short by Stefan's intrusion. After half an hour of laying there in silence, Damon noticed a change in Elena's breathing. He could also sense her arousal and it made him anxious about having her face so close to his lap. He winced at the thought because it only caused his member to harden.

Elena noticed the difference in the looseness of his pants. She had meant what she said earlier; she wanted him. Sure, Stefan had killed the moment, but it was starting to pick back up again. Elena shifted, bringing her face closer to the rising bulge. It was then that she noticed Damon's hand was resting lower on her body than it had been before. _Good_, she thought_, at least we're on the same page._

Elena laid there, debating on how she wanted to go about it. She had only done this once with Stefan and he hadn't told if she was good or bad. Since Damon was obviously skilled in the bedroom, Elena felt a little pressured. Elena gave herself a little mental slap and took a deep breath, deciding to just go for it. Slowly, she moved her right hand along the bed as she was laying on her left arm. She knew he had seen the movement because there wasn't any give to his pants anymore.

Somehow, she managed to undo his fly with one hand, surprising herself in the process. His fingers dug into her skin in anticipation and Elena knew there was no going back. With that thought in mind, she slipped her hand into the opening and freed him from his denim prison. Her eyes went wide at the sight of his erection. He was incredibly hard and her hand fit perfectly around him.

Damon groaned low in his throat as she wrapped her fingers around him and stroked him slowly from base to tip. Never in his undead life would he ever have pegged Elena as bold in the bedroom. It was somewhat of a relief to know that she wasn't going to be shy and insecure.

His hand moved to the waistband of her jeans, thankful that she had her hips at an angle. As she continued moving her hand at an agonizingly slow pace, Damon mirrored her earlier moves and undid the fly of her jeans with one hand. Carefully, he pushed them and her underwear from her hips just enough for him to reciprocate. Elena let out a soft moan as his fingers grazed her nether lips. He repeated the action a few times before inserting his middle finger into her wet heat. He thrust his finger each time she stroked him, his thumb rubbing circles against the small bundle of nerves.

Without thinking about it, Elena's tongue darted out to taste him. Damon shuddered; he certainly hadn't been expecting that either. Before he could even collect his thoughts, Elena moved closer and took him into her mouth. Damon swore and Elena's chuckle sent vibrations around his shaft. While she pleased him with her lips, tongue, and fingers, Damon added another finger into her, completely in awe of how tight she was. He increased his pace and deepened each thrust. Each time his fingers buried themselves inside of her, Elena moaned and quickened her movements.

Warmth spread through her entire body as Damon added another finger without pausing. Her walls clenched at him, signaling that she was close. She moaned around him and pulled back to swirl her tongue around his head. Damon's free hand dove into her hair and brushed it away from his face. "Elena..." he moaned, trying to warn her that he was about to come soon.

He increased the speed of his fingers until he was almost using his superhuman speed. "Damon!" she gasped and moaned again. She was throwing her hips up, meeting him thrust for thrust. The moment he found her g-spot, she inhaled sharply and pulled him out of her mouth to avoid biting him while she cried out. He kept up his thrusts until the last tremors of her orgasm were gone. Only then did he slow down and realize what Elena was about to do. She had taken him back into her mouth again and using every trick she could think of to get him off. Before Damon could warn her again, his hand tightened in her hair and he groaned deeply. He could feel the rush as his seed left his body and spilled into her mouth. Damon could only stare at her in shock; she was swallowing him down without complaint.

When they were both done riding their highs, Elena sat up on her knees and wiped her mouth. Damon saw how crimson her cheeks were and couldn't help but notice that she avoided his gaze even after they both redressed. He reached out and pulled her to him. He kissed her. Both of them were able to taste themselves on the other's lips. When he pulled away, he tucked her hair behind her ears and smiled at her. "I love you Elena."

She blushed again and returned his smile. "I love you too Damon," she breathed snuggled into the crook of his arm to finish watching the movie.


	14. By the Light of the Moon part 3

**a/n: okay, this is the last chapter until the show returns. I stretched it out as much as I possibly could without getting too far ahead of myself. It's a little shorter than the last two, but it covers what I needed it to. Enjoy :) Happy Holidays and I will have more stuff for you after the first of the year :)**

**A very special thank you to Awyrn for translating One Kiss to French! That's the coolest thing ever!**

FOURTEEN

The first thing Damon saw when he opened his eyes was Elena. She was curled around him as she always was, but this time, she was in _his _bed. A grin spread across his face as he watched her breathe deeply. Nothing could compare to the feelings that he was experiencing. He had been waiting decades for this moment. As a human, Katherine had never stayed the night. She had always left right after sex, saying it wouldn't be right if people found her in his room. He knew she was right, but there were times when he wondered if she had gone to Stefan's room instead of her own. Since then, Damon had never let a woman into his bedroom at any of his houses; least of all this one. Those few nights with Rose had taken place in either the guest room or the parlor.

Elena was the first and only woman that would be invited in.

The more he stared at her, the more he focused on her heartbeat. When he could feel the pressure in his gums, signaling that his fangs wanted to descend, he knew he needed to feed. Careful not to wake her, he detached himself from her and got to his feet. It was then that he noticed she was wearing one of his shirts. His eyes narrowed at that. He hadn't remembered her changing. It scared him a little; normally he was a light sleeper and he _always_ heard her moving about.

But she looked safe and happy so he let it go. Quietly, he gathered new clothes and made his way into the bathroom to get ready for the day. As long as he was away from her heartbeat, he could put off feeding for another half hour.

When he returned to the bedroom, Elena was lying in the middle of the bed on her back. The covers were kicked away from her body and his shirt had risen up to her midsection, exposing her panties. Damon smirked as an idea popped into his head. He wasn't sure if it would be okay, but after last night, he didn't think she would mind the wake up call he had planned for her.

With his mind made up, Damon strode across the room and kneeled on the bed by her feet. He was very glad she was a heavy sleeper because he was more than excited for her to wake up this way. He had been dying to taste her the moment she tasted him and now was a good a chance as any. He stared down at her and leaned in to slowly guide her panties from her legs, tossing them to the floor. Keeping his eyes on her face, he took hold of her knees and parted her legs. When he had her where he wanted her, he moved to lie on his stomach. He reached out and ran his index finger through her slit. He smirked as her head rolled to the side and bit down on her bottom lip.

He repeated the action a few times before spreading her lower lips with his middle and index finger. He moved closer and gently pushed his tongue into her opening before licking upwards. A moan escaped her lips and he heard her breath catch. It only caused him to smirk and then lick her again. She was already wet and her taste made him groan. He looked up her body and saw her fingers fisting the sheets, her head rolling from side to side. Damon noticed that her eyes were fluttering, a sign that she wouldn't be asleep for much longer.

Wanting her to wake up the throes of passion, Damon slipped a finger inside of her. Her walls tightened and clenched around him, trying to draw him in deeper. He grinned and sucked her clit into his mouth. She moaned loudly and her back arched off the bed. He added another finger and increased his thrusts, surprised at how close she was already. Her breathing was irregular and her heart was beating rapidly in her chest. As Damon teased the bundle of nerves by alternating between flicks of his tongue and tugs of his lips, Elena gasped for air.

Her eyes flew open and it took her a moment to focus. Her world was spinning out of control and her body felt as if it were on fire. All at once, she could feel his mouth and her fingers working their magick on her. That, combined with the sight of Damon between her legs sent her over the edge. She cried out for him and closed her eyes again, squeezing them shut as he continued to please her until the end.

While the last few tremors took their time to dissipate, Damon kissed his way up her body until he was able to capture her lips with his own. "Morning," he said, smirking down at her flushed face.

"Morning," she breathed. "That was one hell of a wake up call."

"Was it too soon?"

Elena smiled and moved to kiss him briefly. "No," she answered and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Good," he replied and kissed her nose before rolling off of her and getting to his feet. He smirked at the way she pouted. "I am going downstairs to make you breakfast. You can use the shower if you want. I already put your stuff in there." As he said the last part, he searched her face, searching to see if he had moved too fast for her liking.

"Thanks. I'll be down shortly," she replied, surprising him by her lack of reaction.

With a shrug, Damon left her alone clean up and get ready. As much as didn't want to leave her side, he needed to feed. It had taken all of his control _not_ to bite her when she climaxed. Once he had his fill, he made his way up to the kitchen and rummaged around for something to make. Damon felt a little pressured to cook something that wouldn't spoil the mood they had created. After finally making a decision, Damon set about to begin cooking.

Once he had all the ingredients ready to go, he stopped as he heard something in the parlor. Dropping everything, he used his speed to sneak up on the intruder, only to stop short at the sight of Rose. "Didn't have anywhere else to go?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

She stared at him with fear in her eyes. As he studied her, he noticed that she was trembling. He knew that she was afraid of Elijah, but he had never seen her _this _afraid before.

"Rose? What's wrong?" he asked, moving towards her cautiously.

Her lips parted as if to speak, but nothing came out. Instead, she moved one of her shaking hands up to her shoulder and pulled her shirt down enough so that he could see for himself. There was a wound there; a big one. It looked as though she had been gnawed on by a-

"Is that what I think it is?" he asked, swallowing thickly. He might not have ever been her biggest fan, but if the legend was true, Rose was in serious trouble.

She nodded slowly and pulled her shirt back up. "I was in the woods and one jumped at me," she said, finally finding her voice. "It healed and I was fine, but half an hour ago it started burning and now..." she stopped and took a deep breath. "It _hurts_," she concluded.

Damon could only stand there, staring at her. There was nothing he could say or do that would change the fact that she had been bitten by a werewolf. When he, Elena, and Alaric had heard the legend in Isobel's office, that was the first time he had heard anything about these creatures. He truly didn't know what to do. "Rose..."

She gave a cry of agony and dropped to her knees. She clutched her head and gasped for air, trying to stop the pain that was coursing through her system. Damon was at her side in an instant, placing his hands on her biceps. "We will find a way to reverse this, do you understand?"

Rose lifted her head and Damon could see the pain in her eyes. It scared him. She gave him a simple nod and then gave in to the pain, slumping forward as she passed out. Damon caught her and sat there in shock. At that moment, the front door opened and Stefan entered the parlor. He had been prepared to yell at his brother, but his anger disappeared at the sight.

"What happened?" he asked, helping Damon move her to the couch.

"She was bitten."

Stefan's eyes went wide in fear. "And she's still alive?"

"For now," Damon said, his voice distant. He couldn't stop staring at the female vampire. "She said the wound healed, but then started hurting."

"Is there anything that can be done?"

Damon shook his head slowly. "I don't know." He noticed Rose's body start shaking again, the way a human's does when they have the chills. "What I do know is that we have to find a cure. We can't just let her die."

In all honesty, Damon didn't want to save her because it was Rose. He was feeling a little guilty because it could easily have been Stefan or himself laying on that couch. They had to find a cure; and fast. "What if there is no cure?" Stefan asked lightly, trying to be rational.

Damon looked at his younger brother then. "There has to be."

Stefan was about to reply when he heard the shower upstairs turn off. His anger returned, although not as strong, and he glared at Damon. "If you want to waste time finding a cure for her, fine. Count me out."

As he started to walk away, Damon grabbed his wrist and held him in place. "If we find a cure and she dies, oh well. At least we have a cure. That way, if something happens to us, we'll at least know what to do. If you're going to be a little bitch about it, then I won't think twice about withholding the cure from you if you need it," Damon snarled, his face conforming slightly to show off the vampire characteristics.

Stefan tried his best to get his arm back, but was unsuccessful. "Let go of me!" he hissed.

Damon released him harshly, causing Stefan to stumble. As Stefan turned his back, Damon spoke again. "I can smell her all over you."

Stefan stopped, but kept his back to Damon.

"You can be mad at me and Elena all you want, but sleeping with Katherine makes us even. You can't expect Elena to forgive you for going back to the woman that has been making her life a living hell."

Stefan whirled around at that. "So what if I slept with Katherine? At least she was honest about her feelings for both of us."

"Elena never did anything behind your back Stefan. The two of you were broken up. What you walked in on, that was all me. Elena wanted to wait until we told you first."

Stefan snorted. "That's not what it looked like."

Damon nodded towards the stairs. "If you don't believe me, go ask her yourself. I have to take care of this," he added, looking back at Rose.

Stefan stood there for a few moments before ascending the stairs. As he reached the landing, Elena was coming out of Damon's room. Both of them paused and stared at each other; afraid to move. Elena was the first to move, slowly shutting the door behind her and moving out into the hall. "Can we talk?"

"Like I told Damon, what I saw was self explanatory."

Elena shook her head, her hands clenching into fists at her sides. "You know what? Fine. What you saw was _exactly _what it looked like. But I need you to hear me out Stefan."

As much as he wanted to storm out, he saw the pleading in her eyes and quickly realized that it still got to him. "I'm listening."

"You called me a hypocrite and in all honesty I can't disagree with you. I gave you a list of reasons why we shouldn't be together and by being with Damon, I am being a hypocrite. However, when I ended our relationship, I meant it. I could feel us drifting apart and you can't tell me that I'm wrong."

He stared at her and then reluctantly nodded. "I could feel it too."

"I may have been a little to over dramatic in my speech, but I wanted you to really hear me. I want us to be friends, Stefan. I still care about you, but the love that I thought we shared is gone. We weren't meant to be."

"So you immediately go to Damon?"

"It wasn't like that," she insisted. "When we were together, I refused to let myself feel anything for Damon other than friendship. It wasn't until after we broke up that I admitted my feelings for him." She paused to take a deep breath, only to rush on to keep him from talking. "And don't you dare compare me to _her_. Katherine wanted you both whether you liked it or not. I made my choice and I'm not going to go back and forth because I can't make up my mind."

Stefan continued to stare at her, letting her words sink in. "I wasn't going to compare you to her," he said softly.

"I told Damon that I was going to tell you before anything happened between us," she said and then looked away with guilt. "Obviously that didn't work out."

Stefan stepped forward and delicately cupped her chin, making her look him in the eye. "I'm not mad at you, Elena. I'm mad at myself for not seeing this coming. The moment you started thinking of Damon as a friend, I knew it was only a matter of time. I saw the change in our relationship right away. Especially after you came back from Georgia."

She smiled and her vision blurred as her eyes began to water. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head and gave her a light smile. "Don't be sorry Elena. Look, I can blame this on Damon for eternity, but the truth is that it wasn't his fault. You were right, we weren't meant to be. Katherine told me what the two of you talked about and she was right. The two of you are soul mates and I would be a fool if I tried to come between you."

Elena was surprised at this. "You're not mad?"

He smirked and stepped back. "I'm mad, but I'll get over it. I just started getting my brother back from the last girl that came between us. I'm not going to make that mistake again. If you're happy with Damon, then I'll be happy for you."

"You will?" she asked cautiously, sensing that there was something he wasn't saying. Something that she wasn't going to like.

"I'll forgive you if you forgive me," he said softly.

Elena felt her heart sink into her stomach; she knew exactly what he was talking about. "You slept with her?"

"She was right Elena. Katherine and I are soul mates; completely meant to be. She didn't compel me to fall in love with her, that was all me. When I realized that I had lost you, I couldn't fathom the idea of losing her either."

"But she-"

"She may have hurt some people that are close to you, but Damon has hurt people that are close to me. Remember Lexi?"

Elena felt queasy at that. "I remember," she whispered.

Stefan reached for her chin again. "Hey, I promised her that I would help her survive, but I also told her that if she tricked any of us again or hurt you and your loved ones, Damon and I were going to hunt her down and stake her. If she really loves me, she'll stop the games and be the woman that I fell in love with all those years ago."

Elena swallowed thickly. "Are you sure about this?"

"I'm choosing to give her a second chance, but she isn't getting any more after that."

Elena nodded as best she could and took a deep breath. "Alright, I'll forgive you if you forgive me."

"Deal," he said and pulled her into his arms for a hug. When they parted, Stefan gave her a serious look. "Before you go downstairs, there's something you should know."

"What?"

"Rose is here. She was bitten by a werewolf last night."

Elena's eyes widened in horror. She didn't exactly like Rose, but the thought of her dying in a way that was unknown sounded horrible. "How is she?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

Stefan shook his head. "When I came in, she was out cold. I helped Damon move her to the couch. He wants to find a cure."

Elena found herself nodding. "What are you going to do?" she asked as he moved towards his room.

"I'm going to help Damon find a cure."

"What about Katherine?" she asked.

Stefan shrugged. "I won't let Klaus hurt her, but I know that letting her out right now wouldn't be such a good idea."

Elena nodded and headed downstairs without saying anything else. She found Damon pacing in front of Rose, talking on his cell. "I don't know, your wife was the research expert. Maybe she found a way to cure a wolf bite. You figure it out, you're the vampire slayer." Pause. "Yeah, I know, wolves are different." Pause. "I don't care. Find something," he demanded and hung up, turning to look at Elena.

"Was that Mr. Saltzman?" she asked.

"He's going to see if he can find anything. I assume Stefan filled you in?"

Elena rolled her eyes. "Don't even pretend that you weren't listening to our every word." Damon smirked and crossed the room to hold her in his arms. "What now?" she whispered as she closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him.

"I don't know," he answered. "There's really nothing we can do."

Elena nodded and pulled back enough to look at him. "That's good, because I believe I was promised a morning meal."

Damon shook his head before leaning in to kiss her soundly. "That I did, Princess," he said and released his hold to take her hand.

"Will she be okay in here?"

"I'll hear her if she wakes up," he assured her and led her into the kitchen. While Damon wanted to focus on Elena, he couldn't help but let his mind wander to Rose and the "what-ifs" that surrounded her condition. All he knew was that if they didn't do something soon, people were going to get hurt and he was worried about Elena. One thing for sure was that he would rather die first than let anything happen to her.


	15. The Descent

**a/n: I'm so sorry this is wayyyy behind schedule! Life got in the way one too many times over the weekend and every time I sat down to write, something else came up...better late than never, right?**

**alright, I would like to address something that all of you are probably wondering about: how Stefan slept with Kat if she was in the tomb. Well, in By the Light of the Moon, it looked as if Elijah had his warlocks lower the barrier and when Kat tried to make a break for it, he compelled her to stay in the tomb. Whether or not that's what actually happened, that's what I'm using for this story.**

**The next chapter will be up the Sunday following the new episode. :) Even if I have to lock myself in my room to finish it, I will.**

FIFTEEN

It took Elena a moment to get her bearings. She could tell that she was in her own bedroom, but it took awhile to remember why. Rose had woken up shortly after they had finished eating breakfast. Since then, she had been in pretty bad shape. Much to his dismay, Damon knew it was best if Elena wasn't around to witness her struggle. Luckily, Elena agreed since Jenna asked for her to come home.

Before getting up to take a shower, Elena reached for her phone and dialed Damon's number. He answered right away. "Hey."

"Hi."

"Did you sleep well?"

"Surprisingly, yes," she answered, smirking into the phone. "How is she?" she asked, wanting to get straight to the point.

"She's...better," he replied in a strained voice. "But it's not good."

"Have you found anything on a cure?"

"Not yet."

"What about Stefan?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen him in awhile."

Elena nodded and let silence fall for a little bit before she spoke. "Is it alright if I come over later?"

"Of course." That brought a smile to her face. "Rose is waking up. I'll see you later."

"See you later," she repeated and hung up. No sooner had she put her phone back on the nightstand did it ring again. This time it was Stefan. "Hello."

"Good, you're awake."

Obviously he hadn't been listening to her conversation with Damon. "Yep. What's up?"

"Are you coming to the boarding house today?"

"Yeah, I'll be over in a little bit."

"Good. I have some things we need to talk about."

That made Elena pause. She was under the impression that they had put the Damon and Katherine thing behind them. "Such as...?" she asked quietly.

"It's nothing bad, but it's something I'd prefer to tell you about in person."

"Okay," she breathed and shrugged. "I'm going to get ready and then I'll be over."

"I'll be here," he informed her and then hung up.

Elena slowly returned her phone to the nightstand yet again and waited to see if it would ring. When it didn't, she took that as her cue to get up. With that, she headed into the bathroom and started getting ready for the day.

* * *

When Elena arrived at the boarding house, she let herself in. The moment the door was closed, she could hear Damon and Rose talking in the parlor. Slowly, she approached the opening and pointed upstairs when Damon turned to look at her. She mouthed "Stefan" and he nodded in understanding. With that, she headed up to Stefan's room to find out what was too important to be discussed over the phone.

She hesitated before knocking on the door. It felt strange to knock on his door. Even more strange when he opened it and they stood there awkwardly staring at each other. After a sheepish grin, he stepped aside and beckoned for her to come in. "Did you find a cure for Rose?"

He shook his head. "Damon took me off of that. I suggested a few things and he snapped at me, saying he would take care of it himself."

Elena tipped her head a little. "So...what do we have to talk about?" she asked, not sure if she wanted to know or not.

"Well, after you left, Damon and I got into another little argument. I know he's a little strung out about Rose, so I left to let him cool down. I went to speak to Katherine again."

"How exactly did Elijah get you out and manage to keep Katherine in anyway?" she asked, having been curious about that since his return to the boarding house.

"He said something about knowing witches too and that he was able to get the barrier down. Of course once I had passed, Katherine tried to make a run for it, but Elijah stopped her. He compelled her to stay behind."

"So the barrier's not up anymore?"

Stefan nodded. "I got in and out without any problem," he explained before averting his eyes. It was after he had walked in on Damon and Elena that he found himself at the tomb again. He hadn't even realized his feet had carried him inside until he was in Katherine's arms.

"How is she?" Elena found herself asking.

"She's...okay." He cleared his throat, her voice having roused him from his thoughts, and continued. "I figured that since Damon didn't want me to work on finding a cure, I would work on learning everything I could about the Petrova doppelganger and the curse."

"What about Katherine?"

"What about her?"

"Don't you want to be with her?"

He shrugged. "I've been without her for a long time now and we have an eternity to be together. You don't have that luxury. Katherine had to experience the pain of losing everyone around her, you don't have to. In fact, I'm going to do everything that I can to keep that from happening."

"She told you her story?"

He nodded. "Yeah. It made me understand her a lot better." He looked away for a moment and then locked eyes with Elena again. "We may not be together anymore, but I still care about you, Elena. I always will. I don't want to see anything bad happen to you or your family. I asked Katherine what she knew about the curse but she didn't have much to say. All she knew was that she was the doppelganger and it required a blood sacrifice."

"Yeah, she told me that too."

"I asked her if there was anything that she could think of that would be of some use and she came up with one thing."

Elena's brow quirked. "And that would be...?"

"Isobel."

Elena's jaw dropped and she shook her head. "No."

"She's great at research. If anyone knows how to find information on beating this curse, it's her."

"Stefan, last time she was here, she kidnapped Jeremy and broke Matt's arm. She blackmailed her own daughter to get the vampire device and then let my father use it against my loved ones. No," she said more adamantly. "I don't want her back in my life."

"If it means saving your life? The life of your family?" Stefan rushed on before Elena could interject. "She caught us by surprise last time, we won't let that happen again. We're older and we're stronger. She will not hurt _anyone_, okay? I promise."

Elena stared at him, her arms crossed over her chest. It took a moment before she gave in and nodded. "If she so much as bares her fangs at anyone..." she warned.

"I'm going to meet with Alaric now and have him give me her number."

"What makes you think he has a number to reach her?"

"Because it's Alaric," he said and smiled softly. "Just trust me on this one."

She nodded slowly. "Alright, you better go before I change my mind."

"I'll let you know everything as it happens, okay?"

"You better," she mumbled and started to follow him, but then stopped. "Stefan?"

He turned around to look at her. "Yeah?"

"H-how are _you_ doing?"

He thought about it and nodded. "I'm okay."

"I mean with the blood."

He grinned at his misunderstanding and shrugged again. "Each day it gets easier. My body realizes that it's not getting any more than an ounce a day and it's slowly starting to calm down. I don't feel the need to drink more as fast as I can because I may never have it again."

"That's good, right?"

He nodded. "I think in a couple weeks I'll be able to up the dose and start taking more."

"That's good," she repeated, smiling at him.

"Thanks for asking," he said and opened the door for them.

With that, she followed him out of the bedroom and downstairs. He kept going towards the front door as she stopped in front of the parlor. She waved goodbye to him and then stepped down into the room. Her eyes went wide at the sight of Rose's back. It really did look as though her flesh had been torn by the jaws of an animal. It made her shudder and Elena was very glad she had skipped breakfast this morning. "Hey," she said, breaking up their little argument.

Damon turned to look at her as Rose glanced over her shoulder. "Doesn't she look good?" he asked, giving her a look that told her to agree with him.

"Yes she does," she answered, forcing herself to sound somewhat cheerful.

Rose shook her head and pulled the robe up over her shoulder. "Liars," she mumbled and sat back against the couch. Her voice sounded as if she had a head cold. It made Elena grin inwardly at the irony of a vampire getting sick.

"I'm going to talk to Elena for a minute, okay? I'll be right back," he told he and then led Elena onto the back patio. He wrapped his arms around her tightly. "I'm very glad you're here."

"Me too."

He squeezed a little more and then pulled back. "I have a favor to ask."

"Anything."

"I need to track down the She-Wolf and get a cure from her before Rose gets worse. Would you mind staying here with her until I get back?"

"How long do you think you'll be?" she asked, not really liking the idea of being home with a sick vampire.

"Alaric called just before you got here. Jules is at the Grill."

"Is that where Alaric is?"

He nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"Stefan went to meet him. He's going to contact Isobel. He says she might be able to find a way to break the curse."

Damon muttered unintelligible things under his breath before sighing heavily. "And to think we were almost done with that woman."

"If she can help us break the curse, we'll be free of her _and _Katherine."

"What makes you so sure of that?" he asked, bringing her back into his arms.

"I'm not," she answered. "But it's a nice thought."

He grinned and leaned down to capture her lips with his. After an agonizingly slow, tender kiss, he pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. "I'll be quick." She nodded and followed him back into the house. He said goodbye to Rose and left the two women alone.

* * *

For the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon, Elena and Rose had spent their time in the living room, talking. Rose had been telling her how life had changed in the last five hundred years, but Elena noticed how she kept personal things out of the conversation. It wasn't until the vampire started looking more pale than she already was that Elena suggested she go upstairs and get some rest. Rose agreed and let the human girl help her off the couch and up the stairs to the guest bedroom.

"I wonder what's keeping Damon," Rose said as she climbed into bed.

Elena had been trying not to think of that. "I'm sure he'll be back soon," Elena said although it was more to reassure herself than the dying vampire.

Rose nodded and began coughing. Elena couldn't help but cringe as blood started coming out of her mouth, staining the sheets of the bed. "Blood!" Rose managed to choke out, her hand stretched towards Elena.

She grabbed the glass of blood that she had brought up with her and Rose chugged it down, gasping for air when the red liquid was gone. She handed Elena the glass and fell back against the pillows. Elena refrained from asking how she was, knowing it was a stupid question. "I'll go get you more," she offered, wanting nothing more than to get away for a few moments.

Rose nodded, her eyes closing as she moved around to get comfortable. "It's alright Katerina, I don't need anymore."

Elena's blood ran cold. Her heart skipped a beat and then slowed down. Her worst nightmare was coming true; being stuck in a house with a vampire with memory problems. "Rose?" she said softly. "It's me, Elena."

At that, Rose's eyes snapped open, the veins on her cheeks standing out. In the blink of an eye, she was out of bed and on her feet, fangs bared as she stared at Elena. "You're not going anywhere, Katherine."

The moment the vampire lunged forward, Elena leapt to the side and dodged the attack. Before she could get her bearings and get out of the room, Rose grabbed her by the throat and slammed her body against the wall. "Rose, it's me. It's Elena. I'm not Katherine," she repeated, her voice high with fear.

Slowly, Rose's eyes began to lighten and fill with recognition. She let go of Elena and stepped back. "Oh God, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Elena said, trying to keep herself from trembling.

"No, it's not."

Elena nodded and patted Rose on the shoulder. "I'm going to get you some fresh sheets. I'll be right back," she said and then headed out to the linen closet Stefan had mentioned to her on his brief introduction of the boarding house. Luckily, it was well stocked. Elena grabbed a new set, the ones on the bed now stained with blood, and began walking back towards the bedroom. Once inside, Elena knew something was wrong. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing up and chills were cascading down her spine. "Rose?" she called out softly.

Carefully, she set the sheets on the edge of the bed and set off after the vampire. She stepped lightly, keeping an ear out for any noise. Elena swallowed hard as her instincts carried her to the basement. A small part of her knew Rose was down there and there was only one thing that would have done that. Blood.

Elena's breath caught in her throat at the sight of Rose in front of the extra fridge where Damon kept the blood. It was practically empty now with bags scattered across the floor. There was blood everywhere. The little storage room looked like a murder scene. It wasn't until Rose looked up at Elena that her heart stopped beating and she experienced true fear. Without another thought, she took off and ran back upstairs with Rose closing in on her.

Just as she reached the main floor, Rose pounced, causing both girls to crash to the floor. Luckily, Elena was able to get to her feet before anything could happen. It wasn't until they were in the parlor that Rose caught up to her again. This time, the vampire blocked her way to the door and ran at Elena with full speed. Elena groaned as her back slammed into the ground, Rose landing on top of her. She tried with all her strength to dislodge the other girl, but the bloodlust in her was too strong.

Elena looked up briefly to see that they were close to the window and that there was still sunlight out. She reached up and grabbed the end of the curtain before flinging it open, bathing them both in golden rays. Rose screamed, but Elena could hear her flesh being burned. It was enough of a distraction that she was able to push the vampire off of her and get away. She ran back up the stairs as Rose was still blocking her path to the door. She launched herself into a room and started pushing large furniture against the door. As she looked at the legs of a table, she broke one off as a stake and hurried to sit by the bed so she could have a view of the window as well.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she sat there, staring at the barricade in front of the door. Only then did she realize it was Stefan's room. She knew it was because she was more familiar with it than with Damon's room. That, and he had more furniture to put in front of the door. Elena forced herself to take deep breaths, wishing that Damon would just come home, cursing herself for leaving her phone in her purse downstairs. Now all she had to do was wait.

* * *

By the time Elena got herself back to normal, she realized the sun had set. The only light that came through the window was moonlight. She swallowed thickly, not sure if she should leave the room. But curiosity got the best of her and she started clearing things away from the door. She owed Stefan a huge apology for ruining his room and breaking one of his tables. Hopefully, it wasn't worth much, sentimental value or otherwise. Carefully, Elena made her way through the house, trying to be as silent as possible, the stake clutched in her hand, ready to strike. When she reached the front door of the boarding house, she took a deep breath and lifted a shaking hand to open it. She pulled her arm back in a striking pose and flung it open.

Nothing.

She exhaled and closed her eyes with relief for a brief moment. The chills crept up her spine again and she whirled around, yelping at the sight of Damon. He grabbed her wrist lightly, looking at her with utter confusion. "Was that really necessary?" she asked, sounding winded as she tried to catch her breath.

"What?"

"Sneaking up on me like that."

He shook his head and took the stake from her before he started inspecting her. "Are you okay? Did something happen?"

"Yes and no," she answered, letting him pull her into his arms. "Rose was fine for most of the day, but she started getting tired, so we went upstairs for her to sleep. I wanted to make sure she was okay and she started coughing up blood. Right after she got settled in, she called me Katherine and went after me."

Damon's arms tightened around her, cursing himself for leaving her alone with Rose in the first place.

"I left to go get her some fresh sheets while she freshened up and when I came back, she was gone. I went to search for her and found her in the basement. She was on a binge and she came after me again. I barricaded myself in Stefan's room and ripped off a leg on a table to use just in case."

By the end, Elena was trembling slightly. Now that Damon was here, her adrenaline was dwindling down and she realized how exhausted she was. Her entire body ached, probably from moving the furniture.

"I'm assuming she left when the sun set," she concluded in a small voice.

She felt Damon nod above her. "Yeah."

It was silent for a moment before Elena spoke again. "How did it go with Jules?" she asked, pulling back just enough to look at him.

Her heart broke as his eyes darkened with sadness. "There is no cure." Elena nodded, knowing there was nothing she could say. "Liz called me earlier. I guess I know what it's about now."

Elena tensed at that and pulled out of his embrace. "We should probably go look for her."

He gave a slow nod and placed the stake back in her hand, curling her fingers around it. "Use it if you have to."

Elena nodded and followed him outside to his car. She knew what the outcome would be and the more she thought about it, the more her heart broke for Damon. As he began to pull out onto the road, she reached over and laid her hand on his. He turned it so that he could link their fingers together and then gave her a light squeeze. With that, they headed off to find Rose and see the damage that she had done.

* * *

Elena paced in front of the couch in the parlor room. They had found Rose about forty-five minutes ago, feeding on a girl in the school parking lot. She didn't look good. Her skin was already starting to turn grey and it was hard for her to stand on her own. At the moment, she was upstairs with Damon. He had told Elena what he was going to do and she knew that it was a burden he would carry for the rest of his life.

Her phone rang, a welcomed distraction from the waiting game she was playing. She answered it without looking to see who it was. "Hello?"

"Hey," came Stefan's voice.

"What's up?" she asked, having almost forgotten about him and his side mission.

"Are you doing anything right now?"

"No..." she said slowly.

"Do you think you could meet me at your house? There's something I need you to see."

"You can't bring whatever it is to the boarding house?"

He hesitated and let out a deep breath. "Uh, not really."

At that moment, Damon entered the room. Elena felt her heart break even more at the look on his face. "Stefan, I-"

"Go," Damon said, his voice stronger than she thought it would have been. "There's one more thing I have to do. Just come back here," he added.

Elena studied him for a moment before addressing Stefan again. "I'll be over shortly."

"Okay, see you then," he replied and hung up.

"What do you have to do?" she asked Damon.

"Liz thinks there's a vampire running around town and until she sees a body, she's going to keep looking. I'll probably bury her afterwards. You should go," he said and turned to head back upstairs.

Elena's lips parted to say something and she stepped forward to reach out to him, but he was already out of sight. She knew he still had issues with showing his emotions, but she also knew he had to keep himself in check if he was going to present Rose to Liz. There was plenty of time for a breakdown later. She wasn't exactly Rose's biggest fan, but she knew her and Damon were friends of a sort. With a heavy sigh, Elena picked up her purse and headed out to her car.

When she got there, she sat in front of her house thinking of everything that Stefan could have found. He hadn't said that Isobel was here, he said some_thing_. Unable to come up with anything, she got out of the car and went inside. Stefan greeted her from the foyer and gave a tight smile, indicating that she wasn't going to like this at all.

"Hey."

"Hi..." she said carefully, looking around. "So... What did you find?"

He cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair, letting her know that he was nervous. "I didn't track down Isobel, but I found something else that might be able to help us."

"And that would be...?"

He stood there for a moment or two before stepping aside. Elena started to ask what was going on when someone very familiar stepped into the entry way of the kitchen from the foyer. "Hello Elena," came John's voice.

Elena's eyes widened significantly. At first, she was surprised, and then she was angry. "How dare you come back here."

"I was under the impression that you needed some help," he said.

Elena shook her head. "Not from you." She looked at Stefan and shook her head again. "I'm going back to the boarding house. I promise Damon I wouldn't be here long."

Elena couldn't help but notice the look of surprise and disgust on John's face at the mention of Damon. "Why does he care where you are?"

"A lot's changed since you left," she replied and with that, she left, slamming the door behind her. Out of everything Stefan could have found, she never imagined that he would bring John back. He was the one who threatened him to leave and never return in the first place. She shuddered after sliding in behind the wheel. Once on the road, she groaned. Now she had to tell Damon and she _knew_ things weren't going to end well after that conversation. She could only imagine how John would react once he learned that she was seeing Damon now. He had had a hard enough time with the fact that she was seeing Stefan.

Elena forced her thoughts away and continued driving to the boarding house. Damon's car wasn't there, so she waited in the parlor. She didn't have to wait long before she heard him pull up. She moved to stand in the foyer, watching as he walked towards her. She could see his resolve wavering and it broke her heart even more.

The moment he reached her, he pulled her to him. He held her as if letting go meant meeting his true death. She hugged him back as hard as she could as he buried his face into the crook of her neck. She said nothing as she felt his tears wet her skin. It only made Elena cry for him. She wanted nothing more than to take away his pain.

Without any warning, Damon moved them to the couch. He sat against the arm with Elena over his lap. He was still able to bury his head into her neck and hold her tight. Neither of them said a word, both of them reliving the events of the day. They sat like that for countless hours. It was how Stefan found them when he came home well after midnight.

And it was how he found them early the next morning although they had finally fallen asleep.


	16. Daddy Issues

**a/n: I don't know about you guys, but I am soooo excited that John's back :) I didn't write the part with him and Katherine at the end, but I'm still leaving it the way it happened on the show. I just didn't feel like writing it if it wasn't going to change.**

**So, for next episode, I'm definitely going to have it be Delena's romantic getaway and I'm thinking maybe it's time for some real smut? What do you guys think?**

**And I know I didn't include the bathtub scene, as was requested by a few, but I'm pretty sure I can add it in the next chapter :)**

SIXTEEN

Elena paced nervously in front of the couch. Damon had gone up to take a shower after she had gotten done. She only had a limited time to figure out how exactly she was going to tell him that John was back in town. As much as she didn't like him, she didn't want Damon to go after him.

Stefan was watching her from the kitchen for a little bit before deciding to intervene. "What's wrong?" he asked, coming into the parlor.

"You," she answered without stopping.

That caught him by surprise. "What did I do?"

"You brought John back. Now I have to tell Damon."

"Elena, he's here to help us."

"He tried to kill you the last time he was here."

"Actually, he tried to kill Damon."

Elena stopped and looked at him, her eyes spitting daggers at him.

"Technically Damon killed him first."

Her eyes widened and she took a step forward. "You were the one that threatened him to go away in the first place. Why do you trust him?"

"Because he said he was here to help save _your_ life," he answered. "I know he hates us and what we are, but I also know that when it comes to you, he wouldn't lie. He's here to save you and that's all I care about."

"Stefan, he's been lying to me my whole life."

"Yes, he lied about being your father, but in the end you had a better life because of it."

Elena sighed and shook her head. "You don't get it," she said and looked towards the stairs. "If I were you, I wouldn't be here when I tell Damon."

"Elena-"

"Stefan, we may have made up, but we have a long way to go before we can be friends again. I was on board with Isobel because she really could help us, but I draw the line at John," she said and turned her back on him.

Stefan sighed. While he believed he had done the right thing, he knew it would be a little bit before she realized it too. "See you later, I guess," he said and took her advice, leaving the house as he heard the water to Damon's shower shut off.

Elena went back to pacing, debating on blurting it out or breaking it to him as easy as she could. Before she had even made up her mind, Damon came down the stairs. She did a double take as she looked at him. His jeans were loose on his hips and his shirt was unbuttoned. The thoughts that ran through her mind replaced the ones about John and she licked her lips as her eyes raked over his exposed skin. Damon noticed and smirked, choosing to let her look rather than comment and make her stop.

"Where's Stefan?" he asked when she finally snapped out of it, her cheeks coloring with embarrassment.

"He left."

Damon nodded and tilted his head to the side at the nervous look on Elena's face. "You okay?"

She bit her lower lip and shook her head. "Well, yeah, I'm fine, but there's something I have to tell you and you're not going to like it."

"Does it have something to do with Isobel?"

"Not really." She sighed heavily and met his gaze. "I've been thinking about the best way to tell you, but I don't know how, so I'm just going to say it," she said and took a deep breath. "John's here."

She saw his body straighten and tense, a sign that he was angry. His eyes had also darkened and she could see a hint of the red-blue veins on his face. "What?"

The icy tone of his voice made her shiver. "Yeah."

"How did this happen? _When_ did this happen?"

"Yesterday." His hands balled into fists at his sides and she rushed on to explain. "Alaric gave Stefan the only number he had to contact Isobel. John answered the phone instead. When I left here so you could..." she paused and cleared her throat. "When I got home, John was there. Stefan says he's here to help."

Damon snorted. "That man is only here to help himself. He has his own agenda and I'm sorry, but it has nothing to do with you or anyone else. I don't trust him."

"Neither do I."

"I say we go pay the man a visit and see what he's really up to," he said and began to move.

Elena reached out and placed her hand against his chest to stop him. She met his gaze and held it without flinching. "Promise me no one gets hurt."

He thought about it for a moment and reached up to cover her hand with his own. "I won't attack him unless he attacks me first."

"Thank you."

He inclined his head before leaning in to capture her lips with his. Her arms went around his neck as his hands dropped to her hips to pull her closer. He still couldn't get over the fact that he could do this whenever he wanted without any repercussions. He remembered the way she had held him only a few hours ago, letting him cry on her shoulder without comment. It was just another thing he loved about her.

He was drawn from his thoughts as she gave a small push forward, making the backs of his knees hit the couch. As he fell back onto the sofa, he pulled her onto his lap so that she could straddle him. She grinned into the kiss and got as close as she could. As she settled, she could feel the bulge of his pants hitting her core, eliciting a soft moan from her lips. It was more than Damon could handle at the moment, but he couldn't seem to stop himself. One of his hands moved to the small of her back, sinking behind her shirt to trace abstract patterns on her skin. Chills erupted down her spine at the same time warmth spread through her lower body.

With everything that had happened the previous day, they hadn't had time to be alone like this. Elena knew she should pull away, but it was hard because she didn't want to. She liked kissing him. She liked the way he made her body come alive with the simplest of touches. The newness of the relationship, the want to explore each other in every way fueled them on.

Damon moved his lips from hers, knowing that she needed to breathe. He let his lips trail down her throat, kissing and nipping at her skin as we went. While he wasn't sure how far she wanted to go, he was all for testing the waters. The hand that wasn't rubbing her back moved down her thigh before dipping down between their bodies. Elena gasped slightly as he touched her through her jeans.

Just as his hand rose up to undo the buttons, her ringtone cut through the silence. Elena jumped and sat back as Damon groaned with frustration, watching as she hurried to answer it. "Hello?"

"What the hell, Elena?" came Jenna's voice.

They exchanged a glance and Damon shrugged. "Jenna?"

"John is your _father_? Ew."

Elena rolled her eyes as anger rose to the surface. She really wasn't planning on sharing that information with Jenna. "Unfortunately."

"No, no. You're supposed to tell me he's crazy. How long have you known about this?"

"A few months."

It was silent for a few moments, but Damon could here the muted swearing, indicating Jenna had moved the phone away from her hear. He could also hear Alaric and John in the background. "I hate this."

"Me too," she replied, her eyes on Damon. "Look, Jenna I have to go. We'll talk about it later."

"Oh yes we will," she replied and hung up after adding a goodbye.

Elena returned her phone to her pocket and smiled apologetically at Damon. "John was at the Grill with them. We should go if we're going to talk to him."

"Do we have to?" she asked, her hands cupping his face.

Damon groaned again and allowed her to kiss him briefly before using his speed to get them to their feet. "We'll continue this later. Right now, I want to know why Daddy Dearest has returned," he said, taking her hand in his.

"Alright," she muttered, a pout on her face.

"Trust me, I'll make it quick," he assured her before they headed to his car. "I may not be able to hurt him, but I think the look on his face when I tell him I'm the one dating his daughter will be worth it," he said as he pulled the car onto the road.

"Uh, I may have already said something, but I'm not sure. Sorry," she added when he scowled at her playfully.

"So I'll just have to make sure he knows that it's the truth."

"As long as no one gets hurt," she reminded him.

The rest of the ride was silent. When they arrived at the Grill, Damon took her hand, waiting for her to drop it and tell him no. It surprised him when she gave him a reassuring squeeze and even moved a little closer to him while they headed inside. They spotted John sitting at a table by himself nursing a tall glass of beer. When he noticed the couple approaching him, his eyes dropped immediately to their joined hands. "Damon," John greeted tightly. "Elena."

"John," they replied in unison and sat down across from him.

Elena surprised him again when she sat close to him without giving it a second thought. "What are you doing here, John?" Damon asked.

"I'm here to help Elena."

"I don't want your help."

He stared at her for a moment before turning his attention to Damon. "Isobel and I both agreed that Elena would have been much better off if you and your brother were no longer part of her life. If it weren't for Alaric, you both would have died in the fire."

Damon's lips twitched as he tried to keep his rage under control. It was hard as the memories of that night started to replay in his mind. "I would have never forgiven you," Elena said.

"You've made it very clear that you hate me," he said without looking at her. "I should have staked you right after Anna."

"If it weren't for Elena, I would have no qualms about ripping your throat apart in front of everyone here."

"Damon..." He sighed and turned to look at her. She knew the look on his face meant he wanted to talk to John alone. "Play nice," she reminded him and left the table.

John inclined his head and took another drink. "I still hate you and all of your kind, but I'm here because my daughter is in danger. I'm willing to put everything behind us to keep her safe. Tell me Damon, are you willing to do the same?"

As much as it pained him to say it, Damon had no choice but to agree. "I would give my own life to save her if that's what it comes down to."

"I'm assuming that the two of you are together now," he said, finishing off his beer.

"And if I were you, I would leave it alone. We're happy."

"How long before you break her heart? How long before you decide that you want to move on to something else because you're bored?"

Damon shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere and she knows it. We're not here to talk about my relationship with Elena. We're here to talk about why you're here and why I should trust you."

"Part of keeping her safe is keeping her away from vampires and the rest of the supernatural world."

"Elena's capable of making her own choices. If she wants to leave all of this behind her, I'll let her. Why are you here?" he asked again, wanting to get off the topic of him and Elena.

John smirked and shook his head, leaning forward. "I know you're itching to kill like you used to. Who's to say you won't kill me after I give you that information? When I know that I can trust you, I'll let you know. Let's face it, Elijah's deal with Elena isn't as great as she likes to think. In the end, he'll hurt her even more and I won't have that."

Damon studied him and nodded slowly. "I don't like that deal either."

"Good. See, I told you we're on the same page when it comes to Elena."

Before Damon could say anything else, his phone rang. Stefan's name was displayed on the screen and he answered it with a sigh of annoyance. "Yes, Little Brother?"

As Stefan explained the situation with Caroline, Damon cursed under his breath. "What's going on?" John asked when he hung up.

"Apparently there are some wolves in town and they kidnapped Caroline."

"Are you going?"

His eyes glanced over to the bathroom that Elena had just entered and nodded. "I just have to fill Elena in." He got to his feet and then looked at John. "If you say you're here to help, prove it. Make sure Elena stays here or goes straight home. I don't want her trying to help us."

John nodded and followed him to the small hallway where the bathrooms were. He waited outside while Damon slipped into the women's restroom. Elena looked up from washing her hands and stared at Damon in surprise. She looked around and then back at him. "This couldn't wait til I came out?"

"No."

The tone of his voice made her heart skip a beat. Something wasn't right. "What's wrong?"

"It's Caroline," he said and hated the way her eyes immediately shone bright with unshed tears. "She told Tyler about Stefan and I. She told him that I was the one that killed Mason. Apparently, Jules invited a friend or two to Mystic Falls and they kidnapped her. They're torturing her for information."

"Oh my God," she breathed, her hand covering her mouth.

Damon moved to embrace her. "We'll get her back."

"But-"

"No. We will get her back and we'll all come home as alive as when we went to get her, okay? Come on," he said and led her out of the bathroom. He let go so that John could block her from leaving the hallway. He hated the way she looked at him then, but it had to be done.

"Move," she demanded.

"Elena, you're not going with him. This is too dangerous for you," John said.

"But- Damon-" she looked past his shoulder to see that Damon was already gone. When she looked back at John, she shook her head and shoved him out of her way.

"I'll take you home," he offered.

"No thank you."

"How did you get here?"

"I'll walk," she answered.

"Elena-"

"You may be my father, but I will never be your daughter. So please, stop trying," she said and headed for the door.

John followed her and grabbed her arm once they were outside. "You can hate me all you want, but there are people in this town who want to kill you. Don't be stupid, Elena. Let me take you home."

"Fine," she mumbled, yanking her arm from his grasp. Reluctantly, she got into the car. Once she was home, she did her best to ignore him, biding her time until she heard from Damon on how things went. She was more nervous than usual because this time, Caroline, Stefan, and Damon were in danger. It was wreaking havoc with her system as she moved restlessly throughout the house. After a couple of hours, Elena began to truly worry, still waiting to hear from anyone. Just as she was about to head to the boarding house, John came into the kitchen.

"I know you don't like me, but we're still family. Your parents were Grayson and Miranda and nothing will ever change that," he said, holding something out for her. "This belonged to Miranda. She used to wear it when she was little. I think her father gave it to her before he passed. I found it in one of the boxes Grayson left me."

Elena studied him for a moment before her eyes dropped to the charm bracelet. She had seen her mother wearing it in almost every picture of her childhood. Slowly, she reached out and took it from him, her eyes misting over with tears. "Thank you."

"You may not like me, but we're still family. As I told Damon, I'm here to help you. I'm putting aside my hate to keep you safe. When all of this is over, if you still hate me, I'll leave, but I promise not to do anything to harm your supernatural friends this time around. It's all about keeping you safe," he assured her, his eyes going past her shoulder to see Damon.

Elena took a deep breath and followed his gaze. When she saw Damon, her eyes went wide at the bullet holes in his shirt. Immediately, she left her place beside John and practically ran to Damon. She started inspecting him, but he simply looped an arm around her waist and held her close. He stared at John over her head and he gave a tight nod before leaving them alone.

"How's Caroline?" she asked.

"Not good," he answered and winced as she pulled back quickly with a look of fear on her face. "She's fine physically, but mentally...she's not good."

"What happened?"

Damon hesitated, not sure if he should tell her. In the end, he knew she would be angry if he didn't. "They sprayed her with vervain and shot her with slivers of wood. They wanted to know what she told Tyler. They were going to kill her unless Stefan brought Tyler to them. Apparently he went to talk to the wolf about what Caroline had told him. They thought he was holding him hostage and that's why they took Caroline. When we got there, Jules summoned all the friends she invited and they started coming after us. If it weren't for Elijah's warlock I don't think we would have made it."

"See, he's keeping his promise."

"For now."

"You're alive, aren't you?" she asked. "I know he's an Original, but so far he's kept his promise."

As he opened his mouth to reply, Elena's phone went off. "Next time, we shut that damn thing off," he muttered, tired of it always interrupting them.

"It's Bonnie," she said and excused herself to the back porch.

The moment she slipped outside, John entered the kitchen again, holding a few items. "What's that?"

"This is me trusting you," he said, putting the items down on the counter. "This is how you kill an Original. You have to dip the stake into the ashes of white ash wood that dates back thousands of years then plunge it straight into their heart."

Damon took the stake as John moved it a little too close to him and narrowed his eyes. "Where did you learn this?"

"Isobel."

"And where is Mommy Dearest?"

"She's finding out a way to keep Elena safe."

"How?"

John smirked. "When the time is right, she'll let you know. For now, this is all the information that I'm willing to share," he said and left the room.

Just as the front door shut, the back door opened and Elena came inside. "What did the witch want?"

"She said Stefan came to see her after taking Caroline home. He said that she needs us more than anything and I agree. We're both going over there to be with her."

"If you have to," he said with a smile.

"You can drive me to Bonnie's if you want and she'll take us to Caroline's from there."

"I can do that," he said as she stopped right before him.

She smiled. "Thanks."

He nodded and gave her a little push towards the stairs. "You go get your stuff together before I change my mind."

While she was getting ready upstairs, Damon brought the ashes and the stake to the car, hoping that John was right and it would kill the Original on the first try. He had already staked Elijah once and it didn't take. It would only anger him more if Damon tried again and was unsuccessful.

Elena put her duffel bag on the last step by the stairs and wandered back into the kitchen to find Damon staring out the window. "You okay?" she asked. She was still a little rattled seeing the bullet holes that marred his shirt. It was a reminder that she had almost lost him.

"Yeah," he answered, turning to look at her.

She stood in front of the island, facing him as he leaned against the sink. In the blink of an eye, he was hoisting her up to sit on the island, wedging his body between her thighs. She cupped his face and lowered her lips to his, his hands gripping her sides tightly, almost as if he were afraid to let go. Elena kissed him hungrily, wanting nothing more than to finish what they had started earlier, but at the moment, Caroline needed her.

When she broke the kiss, Damon buried his face into the crook of her neck, continuing to place small kisses onto her skin. "We should go."

"I know," he breathed, his breath tickling her skin.

They remained there for a few more minutes before he stepped back and helped her down. "I'll make it up to you later."

"Good. I already have something in mind."

"Such as?" she asked as he picked up her duffel bag before opening the front door for her.

"You'll see tomorrow," he replied and followed her out to the car.


	17. Crying Wolf part 1

**a/n: I decided to put the action first so that Delena could have their getaway without being interrupted. Hopefully you guys like the changes. There will be a part two to this episode which will feature more about their getaway :) Anything you want to see, let me know and I WILL include the bathtub scene, just as I promised :)**

SEVENTEEN

Elena was half awake, half asleep as she moved for the umpteenth time, trying to get comfortable. Caroline's bed was big, but not big enough with her, Caroline, and Bonnie all lying on it. Elena did another half turn and gave a soft yelp as she crashed to the floor. The thud woke Caroline up instantly. When she realized no one was in danger, she looked down at Elena and smirked.

"Yes, I'm fine, thanks for asking," Elena mumbled playfully, smirking back at Caroline.

"It's time to get up anyway," she replied, turning to give Bonnie a light shove. "Wake up Bennett."

"Don' wanna," she grumbled, pulling the pillow over her head as Elena pushed herself to her feet.

When Caroline turned back around, she saw Elena reading a message on her phone, that secretive smile on her face. "What's that?" she asked.

Elena's cheeks reddened as she looked up from her message. "It's from Damon."

"Damon?" both girls asked in unison, Bonnie's head rising up to stare at Elena.

While Elena wanted to share the news with her friends, the night had been about making Caroline feel better. She didn't want to put the spotlight on herself, but she had been caught red handed. "We're together now," she replied. There, it was out there. Elena smiled wider as she realized she had told someone other than Stefan and John. This wasn't about hurting anyone or getting back at them, it was finally about announcing it because she wanted people to know.

"What?" Bonnie asked as Caroline said, "When?"

"Um...a few days ago," she said, realizing how far apart they had drifted in the last few months. It was almost as if they barely knew each other any more. "But it's been going on for a little longer than that."

"What about Stefan?" Bonnie asked.

Elena shrugged. "He's dealing with it. We really did break up that day and ever since then I've been falling for Damon. It wasn't sudden, but because I wasn't focused on Stefan, I was able to realize what I felt for Damon."

Caroline could barely contain her smiles as she leapt from the bed and wrapped her arms around Elena. "I'm so happy for you!"

"You are?"

"Damon's different now and it's all because of you," she said, pulling back to look at Bonnie. "Aren't you happy for Elena?"

Bonnie sat up and looked between her friends. "But...it's _Damon_."

Elena nodded. "Bonnie, I know he's not your favorite person, but he really has changed. I'll understand if you have your reservations, I would too if roles were reversed, but I love him."

She took a deep breath and slowly got up, making her way to Elena. She hesitated and then hugged her. "As long as you're happy."

"Thanks Bon," she returned and hugged her back.

"Just know that if he hurts you, I will take him down before he even knows what hit him."

Elena laughed briefly. "Oh, he's well aware."

Caroline hugged both of them. "Why didn't you tell us before?"

"I didn't want to make the night about me," Elena said as she pulled away, trying to find her things to get ready. "You needed us to be there for you, Care."

"Still, gossip would have helped," she said with a wink. "So what was the message?"

Elena smirked, staring at Caroline who gave her a sweet, innocent smile in return. "Yeah, I'm curious too," Bonnie chimed in.

"Before I came here, he said he had something planned for us and the message was just a reminder of that."

Caroline's eyes lit up at the way Elena's cheeks reddened and her heart sped up. "Have you two-"

"No."

"But you're-"

"Yes."

Caroline grinned from ear to ear. "You know you have to tell us the details, right?"

Before Elena could reply, her phone went off. She excused herself to the hall even though she was well aware that Caroline would be listening either way. "Morning," she said as she answered it.

"Morning," Damon replied. "How was girl's night?"

"It was good. Definitely a nice change of pace. It was almost like it used to be before all of this started happening."

"So you want a break from this?"

"More than you'll ever know."

"Perfect. How would you like to spend the weekend at the lake house?"

Elena sucked in a breath. She hadn't been there since before the accident. "H-how did you..."

"I have my ways," he said, his voice cocky and playful. Elena was still trying to wrap her head around the idea of going to the lake house again. "Elena?"

"I'm here," she said.

"I can always find somewhere else to go if-"

"No, no. The lake house is fine. I just kind of forgot about it. When do we leave?"

"There's a Historical Society luncheon at the Lockwood's. There's something I have to check up on."

"Damon-"

"We'll go after that."

Elena sighed and closed her eyes, leaning against the wall to Caroline's bedroom. "Just don't do anything stupid."

"I'll do my best. Meet me at the boarding house later and we'll leave right after."

"Sounds good. Bye," she said and hung up. She gave herself a moment before returning to the bedroom to face another round of questions from her friends.

* * *

Elena got up from the couch in the parlor the moment she heard a car pull into the driveway. She had been at the boarding house for a little over half an hour waiting for Damon to get back from the Lockwood manor. She went to greet Damon at the door and stopped at the sight of blood on his hands and shirt. "What happened?" she asked, her voice filled with worry.

Damon wanted to tell her nothing and let the subject drop, but knew that it wasn't an option. "Elijah was there."

Her eyes went wide, but she remained frozen where she was. "And?"

"And I confronted him about the deal he made with you."

"Damon-"

"Elena, I don't trust him. He's an Original."

"So? He's still a vampire just like you are."

Damon shook his head adamantly. "We are definitely not in the same category."

Elena stared at him for a moment before her eyes flickered to the blood. "Why is there blood on you?"

He gave her an apologetic smile. "Well, I may have confronted him with a little too much..."

"Arrogance?" Elena supplied.

"Pretty much. He stabbed me in the neck with a pencil to show me that he was the stronger of us. He then gave me a verbal reminder that he was only going to keep me alive as long as I was useful in keeping you safe."

"Well, maybe next time you'll leave it alone. I don't trust him either, but right now he's the best shot I have at keeping everyone safe."

"How many times do I-"

Elena shook her head and raised her hand to silence him. She gave a warm smile and moved forward. "You know what?" she asked, stopping right in front of him. "I don't want to talk about this any more. You promised me a break from all this drama and I want it to start now."

Damon nodded, leaning in to kiss her briefly. "Let me go wash up and grab my stuff. Then we'll be out of here."

"Don't take too long."

"I won't," he assured her before using his vampire perks to rush upstairs.

Elena stood there for a moment before she found herself following him up to his room. She stopped just inside and watched him put things into a small suitcase. He knew she was there, but he decided to wait and see what she was up to. He stopped as she closed the door and made her way to him. When she approached him, she smirked and reached up to cup his face, bringing his lips down to hers.

"What about the lake house?" he asked, pulling away to let her breathe.

"It'll still be there in the morning."

"I thought you wanted a break."

"I want you more."

Damon was shocked by her boldness. He knew she had it in her, but to hear it aloud made him instantly hard for her. Instead of commenting, he pulled her as close as he could and kissed her deeply. She gasped into the kiss as he used his speed to lay her down on the bed and settle himself over her. She bent her knees, cradling his body as her fingers dove into his hair. Damon groaned as she raised her hips, her core hitting his very aroused member.

Slowly, he moved his lips from hers, trailing them down her throat. He kissed and nipped at her flesh until he hit the top of her shirt. He pulled away slightly to look down at her. She was quite the vision with her chocolate brown hair spread out over his pillow, her eyes filled with lust as she looked at him. His eyes flickered towards her lips. He smirked with satisfaction at how kiss-swollen they looked.

"What?" she breathed.

He shook his head and reclaimed her lips. "You're beautiful," he whispered, his fingers tugging at the bottom of her shirt. Just as his fingers brushed against the bare skin of her sides, a loud crash filled the silence of the room. Damon was on his feet in an instant, using his senses to see what it was. "Stay here," he demanded.

"What is it?" she asked, getting to her feet as well.

"I don't know, but it isn't Stefan."

"Damon-" she started as he went for the door.

"I mean it, Elena. Just stay here," he ordered and disappeared from view.

Elena stared after him for a moment before she decided to go after him anyway. Just as she made it to the door, someone grabbed her from behind. At the same time she heard fighting downstairs she felt a sharp pain in her side. Everything started to blur and she felt weak. As her legs gave out, the person holding her let her fall and she landed on her back. Her eyes narrowed in confusion as she saw the person that had attacked her. "Tyler?" she whispered and then everything went dark.

* * *

Damon came to feeling pain. He could feel the vervain coursing its way through his system, keeping him incapacitated. When he could see straight, he noticed a man standing in front of him. His lip curled as he inhaled the scent of wolf. It wasn't until he tried to move that the man pulled on a chain, tightening the torture device that was around his neck. The wooden nails pierced his skin, causing his body to jerk as he let out a groan of pain.

"Where's the moonstone?"

Damon gave a short laugh at the irony. Not long ago he had tortured Mason in the same chair for the exact same information. "I don't have it."

"Then where is it?"

"Where's Elena?" he countered.

"We've got her," came a female voice. Jules stepped into his view with a few of her were friends behind her. "Tell us where to find the moonstone and I might keep her away when I kill you."

"You really think that I would tell you where the moonstone is?"

"No, but I have to try," she said, leaning in close to him, but still out of his reach. "But if you don't, I'm pretty sure Elena will. I don't think she can handle something like this for too long."

Damon lunged for her only to have the device around his neck tighten and dig in further. He growled and gripped the edge of the chair. When the device went slack, Damon started laughing and smirked at Jules. "You do realize that if anything happens to her you're going to wish you had never been born right?"

"You'll be dead too."

He gave a shrug. "But this town is filled with people, supernatural and human who would retaliate and they wouldn't stop at your pack. Some of them are vampires who are stronger than you could ever imagine."

"We'll see about that, pretty boy," the wolf with the chain said as he yanked again.

* * *

Elena sat straight up, the sound of Damon's cries of agony filling her ears. She turned to see Tyler standing near the door holding a gun. "Tyler? What the hell did you do?" she asked, getting to her feet.

"They want the moonstone and the doppelganger."

Elena swallowed around a dry throat. "We don't have it."

"But you're still the doppelganger."

"Yes and in order for the curse to be broken, they have to kill me. It's my blood that they need; my death." She moved towards him with the intent of bolting downstairs when she had the right opportunity. She stopped as she heard Damon again. "They're killing him."

"He killed Mason."

"Because Mason was trying to kill me."

"What?" he asked, disbelief written all over his face.

It wasn't the truth, but Elena was willing to say anything to get to Damon and herself out of harm's way. "He was working with Katherine to get the moonstone. Once he found out that she was going to take it and run, he went after me. Especially to get back at Damon and Stefan."

"They're _vampires_ Elena. They're _dead_. Why are you with them?"

"I know the wolves and the vampires don't get along, but they've been here for a long time and nothing's happened. It was only when Mason started putting me in danger that Damon got back at him." She winced as Damon's cries got louder. She moved to the door, but Tyler blocked her.

"I can't-"

Elena lunged at him, pushing him forcefully against the door, his gun dropping to the ground. "If they kill him, I will make sure that bad things happen to you and everyone else that played their part," she hissed, shocking herself.

Tyler blinked a few times, completely stunned by her threat and the force of which she had shoved him. Slowly, she let go and he stepped out of her way. As she opened the door, there was a man on the other side that shoved her to the floor as she tried to run. "I knew you wouldn't be able to do it," he said to Tyler. "You're staying right here," he added to Elena, shutting the door behind him, slowly making his way towards her.

* * *

Damon was trying his best to keep his composure, but he could hear Elena upstairs. He knew she was trying to get to him and that someone was up there to prevent her. He was more than willing to let himself get hurt by using every ounce of his strength to get out of the chair, but if it killed him, he would only be putting Elena in more danger. There would be no one to protect her. By the time anyone else found out that she was gone, it would be too late. Luckily, he didn't have to wait for freedom any longer.

"Looking for this?" came Elijah's smooth voice as he strode into the parlor, holding the moonstone up for the wolves to see. All five heads went up. The man yanking the chain let it fall from his grasp as they stared at Elijah. He set it down on an accent table in front of them and raised his hands, smirking at each wolf. "Come and get it."

Two male wolves rushed forward, only to have their hearts ripped from their bodies in the time it took them to blink. Jules stared at the new comer with horror as she watched him drop the organs next to the lifeless bodies. Another rushed Elijah only to meet the same fate. As his body fell to the floor next to the others, Jules took off. Elijah approached the man who had been holding the chain.

"Don't kill me," he pleaded.

Elijah smiled and killed him equally as fast. As his body fell, he dropped the organ and looked at Damon. "You're welcome."

"Get me out of these," he demanded, hearing Elena upstairs. He knew Elijah heard her too, but was glad that he stayed put to free him from the multiple contraptions that had held him to the chair. "Thanks," he said before using the strength he had to get upstairs. They were in the hallway, Elena slung over the other man's shoulder with Tyler helplessly watching in shock.

Without giving the wolf any warning, Damon rushed forward and ripped the heart out of the man's chest, catching Elena before she fell. He turned to look at Tyler who had gone ghostly pale. "Go. Now."

As he left, Damon brought Elena into his room and removed the gag around her mouth before tearing away the rope on her arms. Immediately, she put her arms around his waist and held him tightly, not caring that he got blood all over her. She pulled back to look at him, surprised that he hadn't healed yet. "You're still bleeding," she said, unable to tear her eyes away from the wounds on his neck.

"It'll heal," he answered. The vervain was still in his system, slowing the healing process. The only thing that would speed things up was fresh blood.

As if she had been reading his mind, Elena stood up straight and met his gaze. "Take my blood."

He shook his head; he wanted to, but then again he didn't. "I can't."

"Take it, Damon," she demanded. "I can't have you collapsing on me."

He could see the worry and fear in her eyes as she looked at the multiple wounds. She was scared that more would show up and she wanted him to be ready to go in case something happened again. Slowly, Damon nodded and leaned in to kiss her. When he felt her relax a little bit, he moved his lips down her neck, going over her pulse point repeatedly. She shivered as she felt his elongated canines scrape her flesh. Her eyes squeezed shut as her fingers rested against his shoulders. She gave a slight moan as his fangs pierced her skin and his arms went around her as she relaxed even more.

She had given blood to Stefan to save his life once, but it was nothing compared to this. She felt connected to Damon on a whole new level. More proof that they were meant to be. Elena had always thought that being bitten would be a horribly painful experience, but Damon made it pleasurable. She felt her body reacting the way it did when he kissed her, only she felt a bit more airy.

When he pulled away, he lapped up the excess blood that had spilled onto her skin before licking his lips. He had always imagined what the taste of her blood would be like, but he had never expected it to be so perfect. It had taken all his strength just to stop. He claimed her lips again, pulling her even closer to him. Her arms wound around his freshly healed neck, not caring about the blood, and deepened the kiss. When she started moving backwards towards the bed, he stopped her.

"Not here," he murmured against her lips. "Not with all this death around."

Reluctantly she nodded. The fact that she had almost lost him made her want to be with him more than ever. She needed that reassurance that he was here; that this was real and they had survived. "Who's going to clean it?"

"I'm going to call Stefan while we're on our way to the Lake House. He can take care of it," he said as he picked her up to hurry her past the carnage to get to the car.

"What about our stuff?"

"We'll worry about it later," he said and began speeding towards the lake house. Now it wasn't only Elena that wanted a break from everything. Damon was tired of almost getting killed and putting Elena in danger. Their getaway would be a nice change of pace.

Elena marveled at how fast they had gotten there. She sat in the passenger seat, staring at the house. "It looks exactly the same," she breathed.

"Are you sure you can handle being here?" he asked, seeing that faraway look in her eyes.

She nodded and turned to look at him, allowing him to see how much blood he had gotten on her. "We'll just have to make new memories," she said and slid out of the car.

She walked in and looked around with the expression of a child on Christmas morning. He cleared his throat and waited until she turned to look at him. "Forgetting something?"

She smirked and went back to the door. "Get in here, Salvatore."

"Gladly," he replied and pulled her to him after crossing the threshold. He cupped her face and kissed her forehead. "I say we get rid of these clothes and wash away the bad part of today before we make those memories."

"I like that idea," she replied before putting her hand in his to lead him to the bathroom that had always been hers. It connected to the room she had had growing up and it was all for her.

As they waited for the water to heat up, they stood in front of the vanity, facing each other. It wasn't long before Damon began to undress her. Out of all the times he had removed her clothes, this was the least sexual. This was truly about washing away their fears and worries; getting things back to normal so they could enjoy their time alone together. That being said, he still took his time with her, caressing her olive skin from time to time. It was the first time he was going to see her completely nude.

Elena returned the favor, undressing him just as slowly as he had undressed her. When they were done, they remained frozen in place, their eyes glued to one another. Finally, Damon reached out for her hand and stepped into the shower, pulling her in with him. He put her under the water first, using the washcloth Elena had grabbed off the sink to lightly scrub the blood from her face.

When she had been taken care of, she switched places with him and watched as the water turned pink from the amount of blood that was being washed away. Taking the washcloth, she began mimicking his earlier movements, lightly moving it against his skin until every trace of blood was gone and the water ran clear.

Damon looked around and then at Elena. "No toiletries?"

She nodded. "In my bag," she answered, smirking lightly. "The one you made me leave behind."

He returned her smirk with one of his own and moved forward until she was pressed between his body and the wall. Her eyes fluttered as their bodies molded perfectly and she felt his arousal against her stomach. Instead of saying anything, Damon leaned down and kissed her slowly. His need to remove the blood was gone only to be replaced with another need.

He broke the kiss to shut the water off and do a quick towel dry. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her neck. "Lead the way," he whispered, his warm breath sending shivers down her spine.

She led him back into the bedroom they had passed through on their way to the bathroom. He made a mental note to look at her things later to learn more about her. Right now, he was focused on the wet, naked girl before him. He spun her around to kiss her heatedly, reveling in the way she reacted when he moved them to the bed. Just like earlier, her body cradled his, her arms wound around his neck.

"Thank you for giving me your blood," he whispered, nipping at her earlobe.

Her fingers moved through his wet hair as she nodded. "You needed it."

He kissed her again. This time it was passionate and tender at the same time; just enough to drive her crazy. He propped himself up on his forearms and then reached down to see how ready she was. He moaned at how wet she was; how tight she was around his finger once he slipped it inside of her. He inserted another finger and thrust them in and out of her a few times before removing his hand. Damon poised himself at her entrance and waited until her eyes opened. "I love you."

"I love you too," she replied in a breathy voice.

Elena moaned as his mouth found hers at the same time he slid inside of her. Her body arched to accept all of him and he stilled to let her adjust. When she rotated her hips, Damon took that as a sign that she was ready. Slowly, he pulled almost all the way out of her and then slid back in. Her body arched off the bed as she let out a breathy moan. She had never felt anything like this before.

Damon set an agonizingly slow pace, wanting to take his time with her. With each thrust, Elena could feel him getting deeper and deeper. She tried different angles with her hips until she found the right spot. She hissed in pleasure when she found it and moaned in his ear. "Faster," she breathed.

Damon was more than happy to oblige. He pushed himself up just a little bit to get a better angle and thrust inside of her again. Elena's head ground against the pillow as he increased his pace with each thrust. It wasn't until he moved to sit, grabbing her hips to tilt them up, that he noticed how close she was. He removed on hand from her hips and raised it to their joined bodies. She let out a loud moan as his finger found her clit and started rubbing it in time with his thrusts.

Elena's body arched again as she felt her release getting closer and closer. "Come for me," he urged, making sure he buried himself all the way with each thrust, hitting her spot each and every time.

Soon, she was withering beneath him, crying out his name as her head exploded from the intensity of her release. She could feel her body being warmed by his release and opened her eyes to see him. She was more than surprised to see his fangs out along with the veins that lined his face. For the first time, she realized how beautiful it was.

When Damon slowed to a stop, he realized she was looking at him with awe. He leaned down to kiss her now that his fangs and retracted. After some moving around, they found themselves under the covers. Damon held Elena to him with her back pressed against his front, his chin on her shoulder. "I really do love you, Elena," he whispered, pressing kisses against her skin.

"I love you too," she whispered back.

It wasn't long before they both drifted off to sleep. The emotional roller coaster of the day was finally over and after their little tryst, they were both more than worn out. Damon watched her fall asleep before he joined her, completely happy with the small smile that remained on her face.


	18. Crying Wolf part 2

EIGHTEEN

Damon stood in the doorway, watching Elena stretch like a cat as she finally woke up. Her arm stretched out to the side of the bed where he had slept and he saw a frown take hold of her lips when she discovered he wasn't there. She opened her eyes and smiled when she saw him. She sat up and put her arms around her knees, the sheet wrapped around her like a dress. That was when she noticed his attire.

"You're dressed?"

He nodded. "Stefan called me to tell me everything was clean and the bodies were disposed of. I asked him if he would be so kind as to bring our stuff to us."

"He did?"

Damon nodded. That was all he was going to say on the subject. He knew she didn't really want to talk about anything on their little getaway. Instead, he sat on the bed facing her. "How did you sleep?"

"Very good," she replied, unable to stop the heat that rose to her cheeks. She didn't know what it was about him, but it made her blush. In truth, last night had been incredible. She wasn't sure how she would react to seeing him the morning after, but it felt normal. There wasn't any awkward tension. In fact, she was more than ready for a repeat performance.

Damon picked up on her arousal right away. It brought a smirk to his face and he leaned in to press his lips to hers. Elena let out a small gasp of surprise as he used his speed to tackle her to the bed, removing the covers in the process. She snickered at the way his clothes felt against her naked body. Damon left her lips to kiss her neck, smirking again as she rubbed herself against him. He inhaled deeply, moaning low in his throat at the exquisite scent. Not only could he smell her, but he could smell himself on her. It made him feel very good to have left his mark on her; to have claimed her as his.

As he nipped at the place he had bitten her, his body shook with pleasure as he remembered the taste. He had always heard stories about vampires falling in love and that the blood of their beloved was the finest wine. He believed that it was saps like Stefan that made it up. However, now that he had tasted Elena's blood, he wasn't so sure it was a myth anymore. Whatever the case, he knew nothing else could compare.

He was drawn out of his thoughts as Elena's hands dipped into his pants and cupped his member. He hadn't even noticed that she had undone his fly. He nuzzled her neck as she wrapped her hand around him and began to move up and down very slowly. At the moment, Damon was completely at her mercy and he was more than okay with that. Elena started to increase her pace, earning a moan from him. Elena smiled and removed her hands, grinning when Damon's head popped up to glare at her.

"That was mean, Gilbert."

She gave a little shrug along with that evil grin. He couldn't help but smirk back at her before getting off the bed to remove the rest of his clothes. When he returned to the bed, he began kissing his way down her stomach until he got to her hips. He settled himself between her thighs and ran his index finger through her folds. Her hips rose in response, begging for more. Slowly, he inserted his middle finger into her, surprised at how wet she already was, and moved forward to flick her little bundles of nerves with his tongue.

Elena moaned loudly and shuddered with pleasure as he added a second finger and increased the pace of his thrusts. Even though she knew that he was going to reciprocate her movements earlier, she couldn't help but get all worked up. She could feel her body coming alive as he worked her with his mouth and his fingers. And just like she thought, just before she reached her climax, Damon sat back, giving her an evil grin.

"Two can play that game."

Elena smiled up at him for a moment before she raised one of her hands and used her finger to beckon him forward. Like a moth drawn to the flame, Damon felt himself moving to hover over her again. Before he knew it, their lips were molding together and her legs were locked around his waist. They both grinned into the kiss. Elena half moaned, half gasped with surprise when he pushed his hips forward and entered her in one swift motion.

Elena moved her hands from his hair to his back and let her nails rake over his skin as he thrust into her with hard, deep strokes. Her breasts flattened against his chest as her body rose to accept more of him. As she started to feel her body warm with the release Damon had started, she felt him slide out of her. She pouted when he didn't reenter her.

Instead, he flipped them so that she was on top. He lifted her and helped her settle on top of him, enjoying the pleasure that washed over her face. With his hands on her hips to steady and guide her, Elena started her own pace of riding him. It was a strange feeling. Strange in all the right ways. Her head fell back and her eyes closed part way, her hair cascading down her back.

Damon stared up at her, taking turns watching her expressions and the way her breasts bounced up and down. Unable to resist any longer, he reached up with both hands and cupped her breasts. Elena moaned loudly at the sensation and clenched his member with her inner walls, making him shiver with pleasure. There was nothing more beautiful than the girl above him. She was perfection and she was his.

He could sense that she was close by the noises she was making and the way her inner walls moved against him. He let go of her breasts, one hand returning to her hips, the other going to their joined bodies to touch her clit. Elena quivered and leaned forward, her palms slapping against his chest. She stared down at him and their gazes locked. Instead of feeling shy and insecure, she felt sexy and bold. She liked it.

Her body jerked as he hit the spot deep inside her body. That, in combination with his thumb moving against that bundle of nerves, made her come hard and fast. Her eyes closed immediately and she moaned as he sat up, still thrusting inside of her. Their bodies were pressed tightly against one another and he held her in place by wrapping one arm around her back. His lips fell to her neck and she tipped her head to the side feeling his fangs against her flesh. She knew what was coming and welcomed it.

The moment his fangs sank into her skin, her world exploded. Her orgasm had been intense to begin with, but this was beyond words. She couldn't even feel her own body at the moment. She felt as though were floating; her body soaring with pleasure. It wasn't until she felt his wrist on her lips, his blood on her tongue that she experience sheer, unaltered pleasure. It was heaven. She felt more connected to Damon than ever before. They were connected in every way possible; body, mind, and soul.

There was a slight sense of loss when he pulled away from her. He collapsed backwards onto the bed, bringing her down with him. She curled up against his side, her head still reeling from her climax.

"Wow," she breathed as soon as she could speak.

"Yeah," he muttered, licking the rest of her blood from his lips. Not once in all his years had he ever exchanged blood with someone like that. Sure, there had been many exchanges in the heat of the moment, but none had sent him to the moon and back and still left him wanting more.

"I liked that more than I thought I would," she admitted.

He snickered at that and looped his arm around her waist. "You've been dating vampires for awhile now. Biting comes with the package. You wouldn't be with us if you didn't like the biting thing. Sooner or later, it was going to come up."

It was true. There had been several times when she had been with Stefan, whether it was sex or not, that she had found herself turned on by the thought of him biting her. She knew it wasn't a good idea to bring it up because of his issues with human blood and the fact that it made her a hypocrite. However, being with Damon seemed to make it less of a bad thing. She was aware that he didn't have to kill to feed and she wouldn't mind as long as he fed from her. It was something she would bring up later when the time was right.

"You're right."

"I always am," he answered arrogantly, earning a light laugh from her. Then he heard her stomach growl. "I guess I could make you something for breakfast."

"Uh-"

"Don't worry. I got some stuff from the store down the road."

She looked up at him in confusion. "When?"

"When Stefan got here. I made him sit outside and play watch dog while I went to the store. I wasn't gone for very long and nothing happened."

Elena didn't like that one bit, but nothing had happened and if he hadn't told her, she would have never known. So she let it go. "Well, what are you going to make me?" she asked as they got out of bed.

Damon listed off a few options as he tugged on his boxers and pants. He stopped short as he turned to find his shirt, only to see Elena wearing that and nothing else. She grinned coyly at the way his eyes raked over her. "You know, dressing like that may result in you never eating again."

"It's called self control," she teased in a soft voice, running her finger along his chest as she passed by.

Damon felt shivers run up and down his spine as he turned to follow her. She giggled as she felt his arms wrap around her from behind. "I never had any of that," he whispered as his tongue traced the whirl of her ear.

"Couldn't tell," she replied and pried herself out of his arms and heading down to the kitchen, taking a seat at the island. "Seriously, I'm hungry."

"Alright," he said, stopping to kiss her briefly before heading around the island to the fridge.

* * *

After everything was eaten and the dishes were put away, Damon could do nothing but stare at Elena's bare legs as she sat on the barstool. Those legs went on for miles and all he could do was imagine them locked around his waist. She cleared her throat and his eyes jumped up to hers before he gave her a cheeky grin.

"Is there a bathtub?" he asked when her brows quirked along with her playful smirk of question.

Elena smiled and nodded. "I guess I should have given you a tour first," she said and extended her hand for him to take. When he did, she led him around the house, showing him each room. Once upstairs, she paused outside one of the doors.

"Elena?"

"That was my parents' room. We were supposed to come back and pack it all up, but we just couldn't do it. Everything's the same as when they were..."

Damon heard the slight waver in her voice and looped an arm around her waist. "You don't have to show me."

She shook her head. "I have to go in there otherwise I'm going to spend the entire weekend thinking about it. And you wanted to take a bath, remember?" She added the last part with a small smile.

Damon gave a firm nod and linked their fingers together. "I'll be right here."

Elena took a deep breath and reached for the knob. When the room was open, she peered inside, her eyes instantly watering at the sight of her parents' things that occupied the room. She could even smell her mother's perfume in the air and a hint of her father's cologne. Gently, she took a step inside was hit by a rush of emotions; sadness, happiness, and a bit of guilt just to name a few. "Just as they left it," she whispered.

Damon watched her as she walked around the room, looking at all the memorabilia of her parents. He saw her look at the closet and smile to herself. "What's so funny about a closet?"

She moved to the door and looked inside at the clothes still hanging there. "When I was younger, probably ten or eleven, Jeremy and I would play hide and seek. I was hiding in the closet and Jer was supposed to find me. Later I found out that Dad had stopped Jer downstairs to talk. After waiting for so long I decided to come out, but when I reached for the door my mom opened it and she screamed." She paused to savor the memory. The look on her mother's face was priceless. "Everything that she was carrying went flying and I was on the floor laughing so hard."

Damon wrapped his arms around her and laid his head on her shoulder. She placed her hands on his arm and tilted her head to the side as his lips found her neck. She felt her eyes flutter as each kiss made her body come alive. As she felt the faintest scrape of teeth against her flesh, she turned in his arms to kiss him properly. Damon grinned into the kiss and before pulling away. "You keep looking around, I'm going to start a bath."

She nodded, knowing that he wanted her to join him in the tub. It filled her head with naughty images because she was sure a bath with him wouldn't result in much cleansing. Shaking her head, Elena was brought back to the present, finding herself staring at her parents' clothes with a sly grin on her face. She left the closet to inspect the bedroom again, running her fingers over various items.

It wasn't until Damon came back into the bedroom that she remembered he was there. She smiled at him, her eyes watery with unshed tears. He took her hand and led her to the bathroom. They stood in front of the tub, his arms secured around her waist. They stayed like that for a minute, letting the steam of the water warm the air as he held her. It wasn't until she broke away that he knew she was back to normal. Her moment of remembrance had passed and she was completely back in the present.

They undressed rather quickly as they weren't wearing much to begin with. Elena was the first to move into the water, hissing slightly at the heat. Damon stood behind her, helping her as they both sat. Her back rested against his chest and his arms locked around her middle. "This feels so good," she murmured, rubbing herself against him slightly as she adjusted.

"Yes it does," he agreed and raised his hands to cup her breasts.

Elena bit her lip against her smirk. She felt absolutely devilish being in here with him, but she also felt comfortable and relaxed. As one of his hands continued to trace circles around her hardened nipples, the other sank below the water to her core. She took a deep breath as his index finger slipped inside of her. There was nothing he loved more than watching her come for him, watching her reach pure bliss by the stroke of his fingers.

Elena's breathing became ragged and shallow, her hips angling upwards to give him better access. His thumb found her clit and massaged it slowly. He took his time building up her climax, wanting her to feel the pleasure throughout her entire body. Elena groaned and placed her hand over his, linking their fingers so she could squeeze them as she came.

When she had settled down, Damon removed his fingers and began tracing abstract patterns on every inch of her skin, lulling her into an almost sleep-like state of mind. After a long time of relaxing with one another, they decided it was time to get clean. They took their time washing each other, caressing and touching whenever they felt like it. When they were done, they got out of the tub and started drying themselves off.

"Thank you," she said, bringing his lips down to hers.

"For?"

"Bringing me here. I needed to see this place again and I'm very glad that you're here to make new memories with me. So thank you," she said again, caressing his neck.

"Thank you for sharing this with me," he returned, cupping her face before lowering his lips to hers for a passionate kiss, one that she could feel down to the tips of her toes. She wasn't sure if it was because they had shared blood earlier, but she felt closer to him than ever before. She grinned into the kiss as he moved her to the oversized vanity. He wedged himself between her thighs and entered her slowly. In that moment she realized just how much she realized she loved him and much he completed her. He was her soulmate in every possible way and she wouldn't want it any other way.


	19. The Dinner Party

**a/n: This one's a little short...I got a frustrated with this chapter because I couldn't figure out how to make the episode fit my story. By the time I figured it out, I had already had enough, so this is what came out. I skipped over the "fight" with Elena and Elijah because I didn't feel like repeating the show. It was perfect as it was, so I left it alone. I promise to do better on the next one to make up for this one.**

NINETEEN

Damon sat in the chair, watching Elena sleep. She was curled up on the couch with a blanket tossed loosely around her waist. The soft smile on her face made his ego rise even more. They had spent the majority of their morning getting to know each other's bodies in every way possible. Even with his blood in her system, he had worn her out. Hell, he was the one with vampire stamina and _he _was worn out.

Not only was she resting, but she had started going over Johnathan Gilbert's journals. In one of their little trysts, they had found themselves in her parent's closet again where they discovered the back was hollow. When they opened it up, they found vampire hunting weapons and the rest of her ancestor's journals. So far, she hadn't found anything worth mentioning to him. He thought about reading while she slept, but he didn't want to read about the past.

His phone vibrated on the side table, drawing him from his thoughts. Quickly, he picked it up and went outside to the dock over the lake before he answered. "Hello John."

"Damon."

"What did I do to deserve a call from you?"

"I want to know where the dagger is."

"Why?"

"Alaric told me that Elijah has been with Jenna for the better part of today. In the middle of the woods where no one would know any different. Deal, or no deal, Elijah has to go."

"I agree," Damon said, turning to look back at Elena through the windows for a moment. "How should we go about it?"

"I was thinking I could host a dinner party. Try to get back into Jenna's good graces."

Damon snorted at that. "You're going to have to do a lot better than a dinner party."

"I'll have her invite Elijah. He's new in town and he might need some friends. That's what she told Ric anyway."

Damon mulled it over, staring at the rippling water. He told John where to find the dagger and hung up, wishing he could be there to watch the elder vampire die. His body stiffened as Elena's arms wound around his waist, her cheek pressed against his back. She giggled and pulled away so he could turn to her. "I scared you."

"No."

"Oh yes," she said, smirking up at him. He pulled her to him, a sign that he would never admit such a thing. "Who was on the phone?" she asked, changing the subject.

"John."

"Why?"

"Same old, same old. He just found out from Jenna where you were and he wasn't happy."

She shrugged in his arms. "He doesn't have the right to give a damn. I hope you told him so."

"Something like that," he said, placing his hands on her hips.

They stood there for quite some time, staring at the water, wrapped in each other's arms. When he could sense that her legs weren't going to hold her for much longer, he picked her up and carried her inside. He sat on the couch, setting her on his lap so that she was straddling him. She smirked and shook her head playfully. "You're insatiable."

"You should talk," he returned, leaning forward to capture her lips.

Elena's laugh turned into a moan as his fingers found her core. He used one hand to push the underwear to the side as his fingers from the other slid into her tight, wet heat. Elena's hands rested on his shoulders to steady herself, her fingers clutching his shirt. She bit her bottom lip and let her head fall back slightly. He continued to thrust his fingers into her as his thumb massaged her clit. Waves of pleasure coursed through her system, making her shudder. As she neared her release, Damon stopped and used his vampiric speed to remove the necessary articles of clothes.

Elena moaned as in record time, his fingers were replaced with his cock. Her body responded immediately, her inner walls clutching him desperately as she became closer to going over the edge. Her fingers dug into his shoulders as his tightened their hold on her hips. With a few more thrusts, Elena's eyes squeezed shut and she called his name during her release. It wasn't long before he came with her, wanting to feel them as one.

When Elena opened her eyes, he was tucking her hair behind her ear. Their bodies were still joined as they stared at each other. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this; waiting for you."

"I think I have some idea," she whispered, her voice raspy.

She gave a playful yelp as he pulled out of her and pinned her beneath him on the couch. "Oh, I don't think you do," he said, smoothing the hair out of her face.

"Show me," she demanded coyly as she smirked up at him, bending her knees to cradle his body to her.

And that was exactly what he did for the rest of the afternoon.

* * *

With the sun almost gone, the room was bathed in a strange golden light. Elena sat curled up in the chair reading over her ancestor's journals while Damon was in the kitchen preparing a meal. After almost twenty-four hours of non stop sex, they both decided it was time to take a major break. Even with his blood in her system she was exhausted. She could even tell that Damon was just as worn out.

Her head came up as her she heard Damon's phone ring. Closing the book over her finger, she got up and made her way to the kitchen to see him pacing as he held the phone to his ear. "Good, glad it worked out," he said and hung up.

"What was that all about?"

"Business."

She stared at him, giving him a look that said she didn't believe him in the slightest.

He sighed, "It would spoil the surprise."

"What surprise?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" he countered. As her lips parted to say something, he brought the plates over to the island and put one in front of her. "Food's ready."

Elena studied him before moving to take a seat on the bar stool. As she went to put the journal on the bar, it slipped from her grasp. She smiled sheepishly and tucked her hair behind her ears as she bent down to pick it up. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw the page it had opened up to. "Damon, look at this," she demanded, showing him the page as she got to her feet.

His eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the dagger John had given him. "I take it Gilbert was doing some invigorating research."

Elena took the journal back and studied it. "He was interested in them and how to kill them. The dagger bonds with the white oak ash as John told you and it kills them."

"Good to know."

"As long as the dagger stays in place, the Original will remain dead," she added casually before setting the book on the island.

"What?"

The icy tone of his voice sent shivers down her spine; and not the good ones. "The dagger has to stay lodged in his heart to... Damon?" she asked as he whipped out his phone and dialed rapidly.

"Go check on Elijah," she heard him demand in a worried voice. After a minute, she heard him swear and saw his free hand ball into a fist. When she heard him repeat the new information to whoever was on the phone, her heart sunk. She was ninety-nine percent sure she knew what was going on.

When Damon pocketed his phone and looked at her again, Elena had her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed at him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"We were having such a good time..." he started, letting his voice taper off as he saw the look on her face.

"Start talking," she demanded.

"John called me earlier. He said they were having a dinner party and Jenna invited Elijah to help him make new friends. They thought it would be a good opportunity to take him out and they did," he explained. "Well, they thought they did."

The anger she had been feeling was instantly replaced by fear. "Jenna-"

"Is safe. Elijah is gone and Alaric took her to his place where he can't get to her." Elena nodded and ran her hand through her hair as she let out a shaky breath. "I'll call Stefan and have him make sure everyone stays inside a house where Elijah doesn't have access. At least for tonight."

Elena shook her head and looked at him. "He won't go after them."

"You don't think so?"

She shook her head again and swallowed thickly. "He'll be coming here," she answered. "He'll be coming after me."

Damon immediately went for his phone again as Elena sat down on the barstool, staring absently at her food. She heard him talking, but couldn't understand the words. It wasn't until Damon wrapped his arms around her from where she sat that she was able to hear him. "I called Stefan. He's on his way here with the dagger."

"How are we going to stab him again? He's going to be extra careful now."

"I have an idea, but you may not like it. I don't like it."

She pulled back to look at him. "I'm listening."

After he filled her in, Elena mulled it over. Reluctantly, she agreed, knowing it was one of her limited options. It was the lesser of all evils and she nodded more confidently. Now that it was decided, they sat by each other, picking at their plates, biding their time until Stefan arrived.

* * *

Stefan watched from inside the house as Damon fed Elena his blood. He could hear the low moan escaping her lips and it made his stomach churn. He tore his eyes away just as Damon moved his wrist. He used his thumb to wipe the excess blood from her lips and then gently picked her up to bring her inside. He set her on the couch and placed a pillow behind her for support. While she sat there, letting his blood heal her, Damon pulled Stefan into the kitchen where they could see both the body and Elena.

"What now?" Stefan asked.

"We need to get Elijah back to the boarding house where we can make sure that dagger stays put."

He nodded in agreement and shifted his gaze to Elena. "I can take him back. That way it will give her a little more time to heal."

"It won't take her long."

"She got herself pretty good."

Damon gave Stefan an apprehensive look, confirming his suspicions that she had had his blood already on their getaway. "We'll probably leave sometime tonight, or early tomorrow morning. I doubt she'll want to stay here after this."

"I'll be on my way then." The last thing he wanted to do was be around them any longer. They lake house reeked of sex as did the couple. Stefan had thought he'd be okay with it, but now that it was real, it was harder than he thought.

"Thank you," Damon said, catching both of them off guard.

Stefan just nodded, not sure what to say, and went outside to move Elijah to his trunk. Shortly after that he was back on the road.

When Damon walked over to Elena, he saw her looking at her stomach for any sign of a stab wound. "You won't have a scar."

She looked up, the hand-caught-in-the-cookie-jar expression on her face. "I know," she answered, tracing the spot where she had stabbed herself. "I'm just amazed that I healed that fast. Is it always like that?"

Her fascination worried him. She had told him about her chat with Katherine and the fact that she had offered Elena vampirism as a way to escape her fate. "For the most part. The more fresh blood you drink, the faster you heal."

She pulled her shirt down and smoothed out the material. Slowly, she got to her feet and stretched. "Good as new," she said and smiled at him.

He nodded and felt a wave of relief that everything had worked out. If Elijah had caught on to what she was going to do, it could have ended badly. He could have been dealing with vampire Elena if the worst case scenario had happened.

He shook himself and cleared his throat. "Did you want to leave?"

"In a little bit. I want to put this stuff back in my parents' room and clean up. Then we can go." She looked around, noticing for the first time that Stefan was gone. "Where's Stefan?"

"He took Elijah back to the boarding house."

She nodded and moved forward until she could lace their fingers together. "Promise me something?" she asked, her voice silky as she got as close as humanly possible. When he didn't say anything, she continued. "I don't want you guys keeping anything from me anymore. I want to know everything as it happens. From now on, we'll do things my way."

Damon wanted to say something snarky and dismiss her, but her voice, body, and the light strokes of her thumbs on his hands were wearing him down. It was then that he realized he was whipped. There was no other way to explain it as he nodded, letting go of her hands to wrap his arms around her waist. "Your way it is."

As his lips descended onto hers, the playful atmosphere evaporated. Unlike their other kisses over the past twenty-four hours, this one wasn't filled with lust and carnal need. It was fueled with emotional need. They both were well aware of the fact that their plan could have easily backfired. She could have stabbed herself in the wrong place and turned herself. There were many things that could have gone wrong, and they were lucky that everything went right. When they broke apart, Elena placed her head on his chest and moved around until she got comfortable. Damon's chin rested on the top of her head as his arms enveloped her.

After a long pause, Elena finally pulled away and started cleaning up. Once the house was in almost the same shape as when they had arrived, Elena sighed, knowing they were about to leave. "Are you okay with the door like that?"

She shrugged, "There's not much we can do about it now. It was John's mistake. He can fix it."

While Damon put their things in his car, she looked around one last time. With a heavy heart and a bittersweet smile, she turned around and left the safety of the lake house. The entire ride home, she kept her hand over his, just as they had done on the ride there. It was both good and bad that they were returning, although neither one of them wanted to give up their alone time.

When they arrived at the boarding house, they mutually agreed to leave their things in the car for the night. They headed inside, hand-in-hand, enjoying their last few moments together before they had to face reality and deal with the aftermath of the day's events. Both of them unaware that the surprises were far from over.

As they got to the top of the stairs, Stefan's door opened and out came Katherine, wearing nothing but a baggy T-shirt. Her hair was a slightly damp mess and her playful laughter filled the air. Damon and Elena stopped in their tracks at the sight of her, watching as she noticed them for the first time.

"Welcome home," she said, grinning from ear-to-ear at the dumbfound look on both Damon and Elena's faces as she sauntered by them on her way downstairs.


	20. The House Guest

**a/n: ahhhh, it's done! Sorry that took me so long, but I kind of lost interest in this story for a little bit. I couldn't split it into two like I wanted, so I just made the chapter really long. Hopfully the changes I made are alright :)**

**So now I have a question for you: Should I end this story like the show with its horrible cliffhanger or wrap it up in my own way? I would love to continue with season three, but...idk if I'll have time for it/interest in the story after that long of a break (but I'll still think about it) Alright, enjoy!**

TWENTY

Elena had slept peacefully, wrapped up tightly in his arms. Damon had spent the night wide awake, his eyes glued to the door. He listened to every move that Katherine made because he was ready to strike the moment she even thought about coming anywhere near Elena. It had been bad enough to listen to her extremely long conversation with Stefan about their relationship. Although he was relieved to know that Stefan was still apprehensive about starting things with her again. He had heard him tell Katherine that just because they had slept together and confessed their love didn't mean he believed her. She had a lot to prove before that happened. It left Damon hoping that she would prove them wrong and be helpful in keeping Elena safe.

Elena's eyes opened to see Damon staring intently over her shoulder. "Damon?" she whispered, her voice still husky with sleep.

He looked down, surprised that she was awake. The sun had barely risen. "Yes?"

She turned her head to look as best she could and then met his gaze again. "Everything okay?"

He nodded and leaned in to kiss her softly. "Just keeping an eye on the door."

Elena shook her head. "She wouldn't come in here. I like to think that she knows her boundaries."

Damon snorted. "I can assure you that she doesn't."

She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "What time is it anyway?"

"Almost seven."

She groaned at that. "Well, I guess that's alright. I do have to go to school."

Damon frowned. "No you don't."

"Yes I do," she argued and smiled at him.

"When was the last time you even went?"

"The fact that you're asking me that proves that I really should go," she said and smirked at his pout. "Honestly, I don't even remember the last time I was there. My grades have probably fallen off the charts."

Damon cupped her face as her eyes filled with panic. It had never occurred to her exactly how much school she had missed with everything that had been going on. "Maybe you should just get your GED and be done with it," he suggested.

She mulled it over and gave a lazy shrug. "That doesn't change the fact that I'm going to school today."

Damon moved forward to pin her to the mattress beneath him. "Maybe I could change your mind," he whispered in her ear and pressed his lips to the sensitive spot below her lobe.

A light moan escaped her lips and she shook her head, determined to not let him affect her. "I'll only be gone for a little while. Then I'll come straight back here," she promised, her body arching into his as his tongue swept over the spot where he had bitten her a few times.

He pulled his head up and she shivered under the intensity of his gaze. "Yes, but Stefan will be going with you and I'll be left alone with _her_."

Elena's lips parted to make a small O as it finally clicked. She gave him an apologetic smile and reached up to cup his face. "Just ignore her."

He snorted again. "Ignoring her will only make her harder to ignore." His eyes lit up as an idea crossed his mind. "Maybe I could just compel all your teachers at the end of the year to change your grades and pass you."

"No," she answered almost immediately. "I don't want to cheat my way through school. That's not going to help me in the long run."

"I could-"

"No."

He frowned down at her. "You didn't even let me finish."

"Because I know you were going to use the word compel."

"Was not."

She shook her head slightly and swiped the pad of her thumbs across his cheeks. "You're just going to have to get used to the fact that I have to go to school. I've already missed way too many days and I'm tired of not being able to live my life because there's someone after me. Elijah's dead; the immediate threat is gone and the school year is almost over."

Damon sighed in frustration and defeat before moving his face closer to hers. He kissed her lips briefly before gliding them to her ear. "Fine," he whispered. "But you might be late every morning."

"Damon-" she said, starting off as a giggle which quickly turned to a moan as he shifted his hips and allowed her to feel his hard on.

As her body arched up into his, Damon shuddered with pleasure. It was official; he was addicted. It made him glad that he had never followed through with his plan when he had first arrived to Mystic Falls. One time with Elena would have never been enough. She had gotten under his skin and warmed the ice around his heart. He owed her more than she would ever know.

Elena's eyes fluttered as his hands tugged at the hem of the shirt she had borrowed to sleep in. His fingers barely touched her skin as he lifted the shirt up and off of her body, tossing it to the floor beside the bed. His lips found her neck again and began scorching a trail down her chest. His hands reached up to cup her breasts as he kissed the skin between them. He caught her nipples between his forefingers and thumbs, rolling them the way that made her moan low in her throat. He removed one of his hands only to replace it with his mouth. Elena's tongue darted out to wet her lips as his rolled across the taunt peak. He repeated the action, spending equal time between both breasts before continuing his way down her stomach.

Damon's fingers hooked around the top of her underwear and gently rolled them down her legs. His fingers ghosting over her skin in the process caused her to shiver and he smiled down at her. Slowly, he laid down on his stomach and wedged himself between her thighs. Elena's fingers gripped the sheets and she bit her lip in anticipation. A hiss of relief escaped her lips as his tongue ran through the length of her slit. His tongue flicked her clit a few times just to hear her sharp intake of breath. He smiled against her and raised his hand so that he could slip his finger inside of her. He groaned at how wet and ready she was for him already.

When Damon noticed her walls clenching at his fingers more than usual, he pulled back and sat up on his knees. Elena gasped as she watched him shoot up using a bit more speed than a human. Her gasp quickly turned into a satisfied moan as he kept her legs up in the air against his chest and slid into her. He drove deeper than any of their previous trysts and the angle was just right.

Elena's body arched off the bed as her hands went to knead her own breasts. The sight was enough to make Damon crazy, but he forced himself to take his time. Her walls clenched at his member as he drove into her hard and deep. He could feel the muscles in her legs as they tightened with each thrust. He moved one had to their joined bodies and rubbed slow, lazy circles on her clit that had her gasping for breath and withering beneath him.

Elena closed her eyes as her head began to bind from the oncoming release. Her lips parted and she began to move her hips in time to Damon's thrusts. "Harder," she breathed.

Damon obliged, slowing down his thrusts just a little in order to go deeper. Her body arched even more and she moved her hands to clutch the sheets as she came for him. While she was lost in the throes of passion, Damon increased his pace in order to come along with her. By the time they had come down from their eyes, they were lying on their backs, shoulder to shoulder, panting to catch their breath.

When Elena could see straight, she pushed herself up off the bed and headed to the bathroom. As soon as she turned on the water for the shower, Damon was right behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. He kissed the crook of her neck, enjoying the way her pulse raced from his touch. "You're going to make me really late," she said, sounding only slightly irritated.

"That's fine."

"Damon!" she protested with a laugh. It was hard to be angry with him when his lips and fingers were muddling her thoughts.

"Just get in the shower," he said and before they knew it, they were under the spray of water, getting both clean and dirty at the same time; enjoying every single minute of their time together.

* * *

Sure enough, Elena had been late to class. It meant Stefan had been late as well because he had waited for her. Damon had watched her walk out the door with a deep blush because she was well aware that Stefan knew exactly why they were going to be late. Since then, Damon had been sitting in his oversized chair, reading the Gilbert journals from the lake house, and sipping glass after glass of scotch. He was killing time by doing research; trying anything to get his mind off of Elena. He sighed as his eyes moved up to glance at the clock only to see that he had a good hour and a half before she got out of school.

Just as he decided he was going to be there to pick her up, the front door opened and she came walking into the parlor. Damon studied her for a moment and set the journal down on the arm of the chair. "What are you doing back so early?"

She shrugged and stopped at the last step. "I thought about what you said earlier."

"What did I say earlier?" he asked, not sure if it was really Elena in front of him.

"About getting my GED. It does make a lot of sense," she said and took a step closer, giving him that sweet smile that always got to him. "It would be one less thing to worry about and I can concentrate on what's going on around me. College will be there whenever I decide to go, right?"

He inclined his head, still unsure if it was Elena. The fact that he didn't know was making him angry. He let her words absorb as he studied her some more. When their eyes met, he finally had his answer. Surging forward, his hands squeezed her throat as they went flying until her back hit the wall.

"Damon?" she asked, her voice filled with fear. "What are you doing?" She clawed at his hands and tried to gasp for air. "Let go!"

"Do you really think that you can just waltz in here and pretend you're Elena?"

Her eyes went wide with shock at that. "Do you think I'm Katherine?"

He smirked and applied more pressure to her throat. "I don't _think_ you're Katherine. I _know_ you're Katherine."

She took a deep, uneven breath, as her eyes shimmered with tears. It was a long enough moment for Damon to doubt himself and he loosened his grip out of fear. The moment he did, she smirked back at him and launched forward, sending them both across the room until Damon landed on his back on the floor with her on top of him. "For a second there, I thought you were going to believe me," she purred, her hands running seductively up his chest.

He pushed her off of him and used his speed to get to his feet. "Don't you ever think for a second that I would mistake you for her."

Katherine's brow raised as she stared up at him.

He growled in frustration. "Again," he added. "Don't ever think that I would fall for that again."

Katherine smirked wider and got to her feet. "You have to admit, I'm pretty good at being Elena."

"Get out of my house," he countered, his hands balling into fists at his side.

"Awe, come on Salvatore, it was all for fun."

"It wasn't funny."

Katherine shrugged and zipped over to the couch, picking up the journals. Damon moved quickly and grabbed it from her hands. "Just so you know," she said, sinking down onto the arm of the couch. "Stefan invited me to live here."

Damon's lip curled as he moved to pour himself a drink, the journal tucked securely between his arm and his side. He had heard that part of the conversation too. "Yes, but he made it very clear that you were to play nice."

"And I have been," she answered. "I would have stopped before it went too far."

Damon just looked at her, a look that told her how little he believed that. "You do realize that the minute you do something to hurt my brother or Elena, I'm going to kill you, right?"

That sobered her up. Her taunting mood went away and she took on a serious look. "I meant it when I said I want to protect Elena," she said, but didn't elaborate.

"You'll understand if I don't believe you," he said and downed his drink.

Katherine said nothing more on the subject. "So, find anything good in there?"

"Nope."

"Mind if I take a look?" she asked before moving forward.

"Yes," he said, moving away from her. "I do mind."

"Damon-"

"If you're here to help, you'll have to tell me what you want to look for," he countered, dangling the journal in front of her.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You already know what I'm looking for. It's the same thing you're looking for."

"Which is?" he asked, earning an eye roll that was eerily similar to Elena's.

"The site where the witch massacre was," she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"And why are you looking for that?"

"Because that's how Elijah had planned to kill Klaus. He couldn't do it with the dagger because it would have killed him too," she said and took a step forward. "So... Do any of the journals say anything about the site?"

"No," he said and moved to sit in the chair. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to continue reading."

Katherine went to stand behind the chair and bent over so that her arms were resting across the back. "I'm bored."

"I don't care."

"You should," she remarked and stood up only to flop down on her back on the couch. "I tend to do very bad things when I'm bored."

Damon shrugged. "All the more reason to get rid of you," he muttered, knowing that she heard him clearly.

She said nothing, choosing to glare at him before moving her gaze to the ceiling. After five minutes of silence, she let out a low growl and got to her feet. "You are the worst host. So much for southern hospitality."

"You're the unwanted house guest," he reminded her, keeping his eyes on the journal as she headed to the steps leading to the foyer. "Where are you going?"

She looked over her shoulder, smirking widely. "Now you care?"

He only stared at her.

She sighed again and tugged at her jacket. "I'm just going out for a walk. I know I can't hunt properly looking like Elena, but I need to do something other than sit here and be ignored by you," she said and with that she was gone. Damon could only smirk as he went back to reading and sipping his scotch.

* * *

Damon leaned against the passenger side of his car, facing Mystic Falls High as a sea of teenage bodies came running out after the final bell. His eyes scanned each and every face as his ears listened for Elena's voice. He heard her laugh before he saw her and it made him feel like a teenager all over again. He suddenly felt awkward, wondering if coming here had been the right thing to do. His unease wasn't put to rest when her eyes contacted his. Her face was filled with surprise as she made her way over to him.

"Hey," she said, stopping in front of him.

"Is this not okay?" he asked.

Instead of answering, she reached down for his hands and smiled up at him. "I just never thought you would come to pick me up," she answered and then sighed. "I kind of wish you hadn't been today."

"What's today?"

"I kind of told Bonnie and Caroline that they could come over after school. Impromptu girl's night."

Damon groaned. "That means more alone time with your evil twin."

"I know," she said, playing with their joined hands. "But I promise to call you the moment they leave. You can probably stay the night. That should give you some time away from her. Besides, Stefan will be at the boarding house with you, right?" she asked, feeling bad about leaving him with Katherine.

He shrugged and pulled his hands away so that he could cup her face. "As long as I get to wake up to you in the morning, I don't care about the rest."

Elena smiled at that. Her reply died in her throat as his lips descended to hers, initiating a sensual kiss in the middle of the crowd. Normally, Elena wasn't one for outlandish PDA's, but she couldn't seem to stop herself. She knew people were stopping to look at them, but she didn't care. All she wanted was to be in Damon's arms as she lost herself in the kiss. When he pulled back, his arms wrapped around her and she felt his body move as he sighed.

"I should probably go."

"I know," he said quietly and slowly began to pull back.

"I'll see you tonight, I promise."

"Girl's night or not, I'm coming over," he said and smirked at her.

She grinned back and nodded. "I'll give them fair warning," she said and slowly backed away, their hands joined until they couldn't stretch any more. She waved and headed to her friends that were waiting for her.

Damon watched her until she disappeared into Caroline's car before his eyes scanned the parking lot. He spotted Stefan watching him from his car. Stefan inclined his head and Damon held up his index finger, asking Stefan to stay there for a moment. He reached into the passenger seat of the car and grabbed the journal he had been reading earlier when Katherine interrupted him.

"Hey," Stefan said as he approached.

Damon had opened the journal to the appropriate page and handed it to Stefan. "I'm just happy there's no third wheel here," he said, looking around in case Katherine happened to pop up and add to his already bad mood.

Stefan smirked and took the journal. "I guess I should have asked first if she could stay."

"Even if I said no, she would have moved in out of spite," Damon answered and pointed to a passage. "I think I found what we were looking for."

Stefan read the page and looked back up at Damon.

"How do you feel about a detour to see Jonas and Luka?"

He nodded and took the journal. "I can do that. I'll see you at home?"

Damon inclined his head and started walking back to the car. He wanted to get home as soon as possible to see what, if anything, Katherine had destroyed on the off chance she had decided to snoop or retaliate for being ignored. He figured Stefan could handle making a deal with the warlocks and see if they wouldn't mind working together to take down Klaus without the help of Elijah. He sighed as he slid in behind the wheel. He was not looking forward to spending more time with Katherine. He had spent fifteen minutes with her and that had been more than enough. He cursed Caroline and the witch the entire ride home.

Halfway to the boarding house, he decided that he wasn't ready to spend more alone time with her. Instead, he drove to the ruins of his old house to read some of the other journal he had brought with him. It was something to do to kill some time and allow him some time to himself without Katherine. After spending a couple hours there, he finished the journal. With nothing left to do, he gave in and headed home.

The moment he opened the door, he heard Katherine screaming his name. He followed the sound of her voice to the basement only to see her standing there with a stake in her stomach. Blood poured from the wound as she leaned against the wall, panting through the pain. "The dagger!" she hissed and he saw the dagger being drawn from Elijah's corpse.

Thinking quickly, Damon darted from the room for the flame thrower he had bought to try and burn Elijah's body with to get the dagger back. In seconds, he was back in the room, using the weapon on the unseen force trying to bring Elijah back to life. After a moment or so, the eerie feeling of power went away and Damon stopped the flame thrower. Katherine groaned in pain as she pulled the stake out of her stomach and let it clash to the floor. "What the hell was that?"

"My guess? Jonas. He wants Elijah alive," she said in a hoarse voice. Damon noticed how pale she was. Whatever it was, it had stabbed her pretty good and she had lost a decent amount of blood.

As she moved towards the exit, Damon stopped her by grabbing her bicep. She looked up at him with wide eyes, but remained still, curious to see what he wanted. "Go lie on the couch. I'll bring you some blood."

"Why? So you can poison it?" she asked.

He smirked and stepped back. "If I was going to do that, I would have already infested all the bags," he said and inclined his head.

She narrowed her eyes for a moment and then slowly made her way up to the parlor. Damon grabbed a piece of the wood from the floor before heading to the other room for a bag of blood. He brought two up to Katherine and handed them to her. Just as she was about to thank him, he shoved the stake into her mostly healed wound. She hissed and bared her fangs at him.

"That was for pretending to be Elena. Do it again, and I'll aim for you heart," he informed her and stood up to answer his phone. "Hello?" he asked, Stefan's name appearing on the screen.

"We have a problem."

"Like?"

"When I got to Jonas and Luka's house, Luka had just been burned to death. Jonas swore that he was going to let us know how it felt to lose someone."

Katherine stood up at that, finishing her second bag. "He's going after Elena," she said.

"There's something we could do to stop Elena from getting hurt, but you're going to have to let me do it," Katherine said.

Damon knew what she was talking about. As much as he didn't like the idea of her pretending to be Elena again, he knew it would work on Jonas. It was the best way to stop the warlock and keep Elena safe at the same time. "Fine," he said to her and then let Stefan in on their plan. The moment he hung up, he called Elena to find out where she was.

* * *

Elena walked out of the Grill to answer her phone. She couldn't help but smile at Damon's name on the display. "Hey," she answered.

"Where are you?" he asked.

The urgency in his voice made her go still as a chill coursed through her body. "I'm at the Grill. What's going on?"

"We'll be there soon. I'll explain when I see you," he said and hung up before she could even ask who "we" entailed.

She didn't have to wait long. Before she had even made up her mind about whether or not she should go back inside or not, Damon, Katherine, and Stefan came rushing over to her at vampire speed. She nearly jumped as Damon's arms wrapped around her tightly for a brief moment. When he pulled away, her necklace was dangling from his fingers before he gave it to Katherine. "Come on," he said, tugging her forward.

"Damon- What-" she started, looking over her shoulder as Stefan followed Katherine into the Grill as she put the necklace on.

He said nothing until they were in his car and driving away from the Grill. "Jonas and Luka decided to magically invite themselves over a little bit ago. Luka was there to pull the dagger out of Elijah's chest to bring him back. He had staked Katherine just as I got there. I used the flamethrower on him and it killed him. Now Jonas is out for revenge and we have a feeling that he was going to come after you."

Elena's mind was reeling as she watched the trees zip by outside Damon's window. "But why does Katherine have my necklace?"

"She's going to pretend to be you. That way she can try to take Jonas out before anyone gets hurt."

"Do you really think that's a good idea?"

Damon's lip curled a little. "I don't like it either, but it was her idea and we didn't really have time to come up with a better one."

"So what are we doing while she's pretending to be me?"

"Waiting until Stefan calls to tell me that everything's good and I'll take you home."

Elena nodded, still trying to process everything he had told her. It wasn't until he laid his hand on hers that she noticed something was a bit off. "Damon?"

"I'm sorry."

"For?"

"I didn't mean to kill him."

Elena's head tilted to the side. "You didn't know he was there, right? I'm not going to hold that against you. You did it as a type of self defense," she said and squeezed his hand. She knew he didn't regret it; he was just worried what she would think of him having killed someone else. It didn't sit well with her, knowing that Luka had been killed because Damon was trying to defend her, but she liked the idea of Elijah getting revenge even less.

"Where do you want to go?" he asked, not wanting to drive all the way out to the boarding house.

"There's a park close to my house," she suggested and he nodded before driving in that direction.

He made sure the car was parked somewhere very dark, hard for human eyes to see, before they made their way to the small playground. They sat on the table, their feet resting on the attached benches. "How was girl's night?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Bonnie was freaking out because she lost her powers and Caroline's having Matt drama again," she answered and let out a sigh. "It was kind of nice to talk about somewhat normal things for a change. Apparently, Bonnie and Jeremy are dating now. And Jenna came to the Grill with us too, but she left with Alaric to talk about their relationship." She looked over her shoulder at him. "Which reminds me, Alaric mentioned that he wanted to tell Jenna about everything soon."

Damon thought about it and nodded. "Everybody else seems to know. Telling Jenna wouldn't hurt." Then he remembered what she had said about her brother. "Really? Jer and the witch? Interesting."

Elena nodded and smiled faintly. "It'll take some getting used to."

"New relationships always do," he replied.

Silence fell between them for awhile. Damon slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her close so that her head could rest on his shoulder. "How was your day with Katherine? Aside from the stuff with Luka?"

"She spent the entire day driving me crazy," he answered. "She pretended to be you, having eavesdropped on our conversation this morning, she knew the right things to say."

Elena felt a bit of anger creep to the surface of her emotions. "And?" she asked tightly.

"I caught onto her before anything happened."

Elena let out a sigh of relief, wondering why she had doubted him in the first place. "I still don't get why Stefan would fall for her charms so easily again."

Damon shrugged. "I would like to think that my brother is smarter than that. That he's only doing it for one of two reasons."

"What are those reasons?" she asked.

"He could be doing it to get revenge. He could be getting her to fall for him and then when the opportunity presents itself, he'll leave her high and dry like she did to us," he explained. "It's what I would have done."

"And the other?" she asked, hoping that Stefan wouldn't sink to Katherine's level like that.

"I know he doesn't trust her. My brother is many things, but a fool is not one of them. He's slept with her and says he loves her, but he's not going to be quick to jump to the assumption that she's telling the truth. He's probably just playing along with her to make her more compliant."

Elena shrugged. "I just hope he knows what he's doing and he doesn't get hurt."

"Me too," he said, his voice barely audible. Elena smiled and snuggled closer. It warmed her heart to hear him worry about his brother. They lapsed into silence again, this time ending only when his phone rang. He hung up rather quickly and slid to his feet, helping Elena to hers. "Every thing is taken care of."

"Jonas?"

"Katherine killed him," he said with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "They're at your house waiting for us."

Elena linked her fingers with his as they walked to his car. Once they were in her house, they were greeted by Stefan and Katherine. "Jeremy and Bonnie are in his room," Stefan informed her.

He smirked as she wrinkled her nose. "Thanks for sharing," she mumbled and looked at Katherine.

"You're welcome," she said, handing the necklace back to Elena.

Elena took it and fastened it around her neck before replying. "Look, I understand why you did this, but it can never happen again. Damon told me what you did earlier and I can't have you running around pretending to be me because you feel like it. So thank you for tonight, but this was the last time."

Katherine narrowed her eyes at her and then at Damon. "I did you a favor. I saved your friends and got rid of the threat. I know you don't trust me because I don't exactly trust you either, but I don't have any reason to hurt you. The whole point of this is to keep you alive. Just remember that," she said and walked out of the house.

"Thank you," Elena said to Stefan.

He inclined his head and followed her, stopping at the door. "I'm just glad we got to you in time. Things would have ended very badly if we hadn't," he said and then closed the door behind him.

Elena let out a deep breath and moved to hug Damon. "Today sucks," she mumbled against his chest.

"See what happens when you go to school?" he teased.

She rolled her eyes, but smiled despite herself. "You're still going to stay tonight?"

"Really? You think I'd leave you alone after a day like this?"

"You just don't want to eavesdrop on your brother," she said, looking up at him.

He cringed at the idea and placed a kiss onto her forehead. His eyes moved to the door and he pulled back. "Jenna and Alaric are on the other side of the door. What do you say we go upstairs?"

"Please," she said and led the way to her room.

They laid down on top of her bed on top of the comforter. She rested her head on his chest as his fingers traced patterns onto her skin. They just enjoyed each other's company without saying anything. She heard Jenna slam the door downstairs followed by Damon's, "Ouch," on Alaric's account.

After a few minutes of nothing, the door bell rang. Damon went perfectly still and got to his feet faster than Elena could blink. "Damon?" she asked, hearing Jenna open the door roughly, probably under the assumption it was Alaric again.

"That's not good," he muttered.

"What?" she asked, getting to her feet. "Who's at the door?" A bad feeling began to settle in and she swallowed hard.

"It's your mother."


	21. Know Thy Enemy

**a/n: ugh, so I wanted to post this three days ago, but my internet decided it just didn't want to work... So, sorry for the delay.**

**So I really loved the episode as it was...that being said, I didn't feel the need to include the action again. This chapter is all about the aftermath and I threw in something extra for you guys too :) All you guys really need to know is that Stefan went on the witch thingy with Bonnie and did most of Damon's parts on the show while Damon took care of Stefan's things. Make sense?**

TWENTY-ONE

Elena bolted down the stairs the moment Damon's words registered. She stopped short at the bottom, almost losing her balance in the process. There, in front of her eyes, were Jenna and Isobel. "What are you doing here?" Elena hissed, all of her pent up anger being hurled at the woman on the other side of the door.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing. I also wanted to meet the woman who has been taking care of you."

"Would you like to-"

"No!" Elena snapped, earning a look of shock from Jenna. "We are _not_ inviting you in. Not now, not ever."

Isobel stared at her for a moment before her gaze drifted past Elena's shoulder and widened at the sight of Damon slowly descending the stairs. He held her gaze even as he stopped by Elena's side, looping an arm possessively around her waist. "I think you should leave," Damon said, keeping his voice even and deadly.

Isobel stood up straighter and looked at Jenna. "It was nice meeting you," she said and looked at Elena again. "It was nice seeing you again, Elena."

"Again?" Jenna said, her voice rising. "Excuse me," she breathed and ran past the couple on the way up to her room.

Isobel's eyes dropped to Damon's arm that was still firmly around Elena's waist. "Keeping it in the family, are we Damon?" she taunted.

Elena moved to step forward, ready to inflict some sort of pain and suffering on the elder woman, but Damon's hand dug into her side to keep her in place. "Elena, why don't you go check on Jenna. I'll take care of the unwanted house guest," he said, his eyes never leaving the female vampires.

Elena looked up at him, sighing in defeat as she realized he wasn't going to take no for an answer. When he let her go, she headed upstairs, hoping that Jenna would let her explain or talk to her at all.

"You shouldn't have come here," Damon said, taking a predator-like step forward. They both knew that he was the stronger one of the two. Isobel didn't stand a chance against him in a fight and he was more than ready to kill her without a second thought. He had killed her once, the second time around should be fairly easy.

"I had to come back," she said, stepping back from the door and his advances.

"You didn't have to come here."

"I wanted to see Elena."

"Last time you wanted to see her, you threatened her," he corrected, showing a bit of fang. "And I really don't think you'd be stupid enough to do that again."

"I-"

"Tell you what, you leave right now and I won't have to rip your throat out. Deal?" Isobel narrowed her eyes at him, but nodded. And just like that, she was gone.

Damon shut the door and headed upstairs to find Elena leaning against Jenna's door, begging for a chance to explain. When she noticed Damon standing there, she turned to face him. He could see the tears in her eyes as she shook her head and moved to the embrace he offered. "I don't know what to do," she breathed.

"She's scared. Alaric's been telling her that she died."

"Then we'll have to tell her everything."

Damon said nothing; just held her tighter. "Come on," he said, hoisting her up until he could carry her into her room. "Let her process everything and we'll talk to her about it tomorrow, alright?"

"What if she doesn't want to talk?"

"We'll figure it out," he assured her, knowing that Jenna was freaking out. He could hear her muttering things under her breath as she paced back and forth in her room. "I'll keep an ear out in case she tries to do something stupid, okay? And I'll call Alaric first thing in the morning so he can come over and try to fix this."

Elena nodded as he wiped the tears from her eyes after brushing the hair out of her face. "Thank you," she murmured before burying her face on his chest.

"You're welcome," he returned and held her close. Neither of them said anything for the rest of the night. They just laid there silently, wrapped in each other's arms. After a few hours, Elena finally fell asleep while Damon did as he promised and kept an ear out for Jenna. Luckily she had decided to sleep her anger and confusion off too, making Damon's night a little easier.

* * *

After having Jenna run off to live on campus and John inviting Isobel in the house, Elena was more than ready to pull her hair out. She was frustrated and angry beyond anything normal and was trying her best not to take it out on Damon who had been acting as her body guard; never leaving her sight. Since they had started dating, she didn't mind his constant presence, but today, it was making her even more crazy.

Even as they drove one of the public buildings to receive her mother's charity check from Mrs. Lockwood, Elena couldn't seem to sit still. The moment Damon pulled to a stop, Elena bolted from her seat and slammed the door. She saw Damon bite his lip as his eyes widened significantly.

"Elena, I know you're mad, but please, I'm begging you, don't take it out on the car," he said, slowly moving to stand by her side.

It was on the tip of her tongue to say something, but the expression on his face made her smile. "I promise, I won't take it out on the car anymore."

"Thank you," he said with a huge sigh of relief as he pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her. When a thought popped into his head, he smirked and stepped back, taking her hand lightly in his. "Come on," he urged, leading her inside the building.

Instead of going towards the meeting hall where the ceremony would take place, Damon changed course and tugged her into a little side room that was used as some sort of office. "Damon!" she hissed as he set her on top of a desk; the only thing in the room.

He wedged himself between her legs and placed his hands on her thighs, slowly moving her dress up her thighs. "I have an idea or two on how I can help lower your stress levels," he whispered seductively as he leaned forward to nibble on her ear.

Elena placed her hands on top of his, half heartedly attempting to stop his ministrations. However, as his lips moved to her neck, the remnants of her restraint failed and she moved her hands to his belt. Damon's lips curved into a triumphant smirk as he brushed them over hers. She grinned back at him as she undid his belt before pushing his pants and boxers down. As her hand wrapped around him, Damon hissed. It was all he could do to remove her underwear nicely instead of tearing it off like he wanted.

Gently, Damon removed her hand and pulled himself back enough to position himself at her entrance. Elena shook her head, still unable to grasp the fact that they were doing this in public. A low moan escaped her throat as Damon entered her completely, driving himself all the way in. His lips sought hers again as he rocked his hips at a steady pace.

Wanting more of him, Elena lay back to rest on her elbows. Damon took the cue and began to thrust harder and deeper. Elena sucked on her bottom lip to keep from crying out as Damon's eyes bore into hers. She could feel herself blushing from the intensity of it and it made every move they made seem more intense as well.

Despite her best efforts, Elena moaned. Although, she no longer cared if anyone heard her. Her head tipped back as she felt her release coming. She could feel warmth spreading to every inch of her body. Damon's hand rose to play with her ultra sensitive nub, making her moan a few more times. He smirked down at her. Elena saw through hooded eyes and angled her hips without warning. A loud moan escaped his lips and he saw her smirk up at him.

Not to be out done, Damon used his vampire speed to lift her off the desk and pin her to the wall. A groan of pleasure-pain escaped her lips from the sensation. She wrapped her legs around his waist and let her fingers dive into his hair. Damon held her hips hard enough to leave bruises, but Elena hardly noticed. All she could feel was the rising warmth and the way her body was begging for release.

Damon could feel her walls contracting around him, trying to pull him deeper into his body. It was enough to make him lose control. He could feel his fangs wanting to descend, but he knew he couldn't bite her. Not here anyway. After a few more deep thrusts, Elena's head jerked back, bouncing off the wall as she tried her best to stay silent during her release. Damon followed her almost immediately, burying himself completely as his seed warmed up her insides.

Damon buried his face in the crook of her neck as she played with his hair while trying to catch her breath. "Did it work?" he asked, placing gentle kisses onto her heated skin.

"Yes," she breathed. At the moment, she couldn't focus on anything but the fact that he was still inside her. "But we really should get in there. I think I hear Mrs. Lockwood talking."

"Mmm," was all he could say. He knew Carol would be talking for a bit before she got to the part where Elena was concerned. Slowly, he stepped back and lowered her to the ground so they could put their clothes back on. Once they were dressed, he kissed her deeply before letting her open the door.

Both of them went still at the sight of John just outside the door. He looked at Elena's disheveled figure to Damon's before his jaw clenched with anger and he stepped back. Grateful that he wasn't going to say anything, Elena slipped her hand into Damon's and sped towards the crowd to avoid any confrontation. Once there, she shook her head and looked at the ground out of embarrassment.

"Relax," he whispered in her ear.

She turned to narrow her eyes at him, but he only smirked in response. Before she could comment, Mrs. Lockwood was calling her name. Stunned, it took Elena a few seconds to compose herself and make her way to the podium. She accepted the check from the older woman and then started the speech she had prepared.

Not even partway through, Elena was cut off by a thud from the back of the crowd. As everyone turned around to look, her jaw dropped at the sight of John's body lying awkwardly on the floor. Several emotions overwhelmed her; she didn't know how to feel. She saw Damon reach him first and was about to take a step forward only to be stopped by an arm around her waist and a hand covering her mouth. As she fought the person dragging her off to the side, she heard in _her_ voice, "Nice dress. Mind if I borrow it?" Before she could even try to put up a fight, the room went dark and Elena collapsed.

Katherine changed quickly and handed Elena to Isobel who was waiting outside one of the side doors. She heard Damon approaching and pulled out her cell phone. Pretending to end a call, she signaled for him to wait. "Is he-"

"He'll heal," he assured her and looked her up and down. He could tell something wasn't right. "Come on, we need to get you out of here," he said and reached for her arm. The moment he touched her, he knew exactly what was wrong. He held her tightly as they walked outside to his car. Once there, he pinned her against the trunk and bared his fangs at her. "Where is she?"

"Damon-"

"Cut the shit, Katherine. Did you really think I wouldn't know it was you?" he snarled.

She smirked up at him. "Actually, I was counting on it," she said and in the blink of an eye she had lodged a stake into his stomach. "Clever, hiding the moonstone in the soap dish," she said as she pushed him into the bushes next to the car. "See you around Salvatore," she added before taking off in his car.

* * *

Elena sat in the parlor, staring at Isobel's amulet in her hands. She could still smell the burning flesh as Isobel burned to ash right before her eyes. "Is that Isobel's?" Stefan asked as he entered the room.

Elena nodded weakly. "I hated her, but I feel bad that she's dead."

Stefan laid his hand on her forearm. "That's because you wanted to know her; not the vampire, but the woman inside."

"If it weren't for this doppelganger crap I'm sure she would have let me see that side of her," Elena muttered.

"That's what you get for trusting Katherine," Damon said as he came into the room, glaring at Stefan.

Stefan stood up from the couch and shook his head. "I didn't trust her, Damon."

"You were sleeping with her. You told her how you felt and you believed her when she said she loved you." He set the thick stack of papers down on the table beside him. "Did you not learn anything the first time around?"

"I didn't trust her," he repeated. "Yes, I slept with her again and I made a mistake in telling her how I felt, but I never wanted her out of the tomb. I knew she would end up betraying us again. I simply wanted to know if what we had back then was real," he answered.

"Of course it wasn't real, Stefan. She was using us." Damon shook his head and took a step closer to Stefan. "So what exactly was your goal by staying up late and planning your eternity together?"

Stefan hesitated and then looked down. "Alright, fine. I thought maybe if she was being genuine this time around she would let me in. If she believed that I was on her side, she might open up to me and I might be able to stop her. I was wrong, okay?" He turned to look at Elena. "I'm sorry."

She nodded. "For what it's worth, I believed her too," she said, referring to their conversation in front of the tomb not so long ago. "What is that?" she asked, nodding to the stack of papers, changing the subject in the process.

"This is the deed to our house," Damon explained, handing it to her. "Isobel mentioned that she had a safe house for you and I think it's a good idea. You can be in charge of what vampire comes in and who doesn't."

"But I would have to live here," she said, skimming the first couple pages.

"Well yeah," Damon said, giving her a sly grin. "That would defeat the purpose if you were still at your house."

"Jenna's never going to agree to this."

"Not now, but once she knows the truth."

Before Elena could point out the fact that leaving Jeremy and Jenna alone in a house where practically all their enemies had previously invited into wasn't very appealing, she was interrupted by John waking up. Damon had moved him from the crime scene to the boarding house after waking up to a bunch of cops surrounding the area. In an instant, Damon was holding John up by his throat.

"I swear! I didn't know anything!" he pleaded, his eyes finding Elena's. "I swear," he repeated.

"Damon, put him down," Elena demanded softly. She had already lost one parent today, she didn't need to lose two. "We need to talk," she said, her eyes on John.

Damon slowly returned John to the ground and set him on his own two feet. After a moment of hesitation, he let go of the human's neck and stepped back until he was beside Stefan behind Elena. John rubbed his throat as he panted heavily, trying to regain his breath. Stefan retreated from the room after giving Damon a knowing look. "I'll be upstairs," Damon said to her, taking the deed with him as he reluctantly left her side.

Elena sat back on the couch and motioned for him to sit across from her. "Whatever it is that Damon thinks I did, I promise you Elena, I had no part in it."

Elena filled him in on what had happened after Isobel's attack. When she got to what happened at the graveyard, she was surprised to find that tears sprang to both their eyes. "You really didn't know any of this?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I know she was cruel and emotionless, but that wasn't the Isobel that I fell in love with. You would have liked her before," he said earnestly, hoping that she would believe him. "I kept hoping that if I played along with her, stuck close to her side, she would let her emotions back in and..." his voice trailed off and he ran a hand through his hair.

"I have her necklace if you want it."

He shook his head. "No. Keep it," he said. Neither of them wanted to say it, but the amulet would come in handy in case things didn't go according to plan. "Look, Elena, I'm so sorry that she did this. I'm sorry that I let her back into your life, but you weren't there. You didn't see the pain on her face the day she had to give you up. That was the woman I was trying to see again. Not the heartless one." He sighed when she didn't say anything. "I'll do whatever you want me to do to make up for it. If leaving will make you happy then I'll go."

As he stood up, Elena closed her eyes against more burning tears. "No. You're going to stay and you're going to play by my rules. You're going to help us against Katherine and the others. No more lies, no more double agent stuff."

"Okay," he said, smiling faintly to the point where Elena thought she was imagining it. "Why?"

She met his gaze and got to her feet. "Because you're the only parent I have left," she said before walking away.

Once upstairs, Damon wrapped his arms around her as they lie in bed. His hand stroked idly up and down her spine as she rested her cheek against his chest. "I'm sorry," he said after some time.

"For?"

"For Isobel. If I hadn't turned her-"

Elena raised her free arm up and placed her fingers over his lips as she craned her neck to look at him. "Don't," she whispered. "It's not going to change anything, okay? And I'm not mad at you."

"You should be," he mumbled around her fingers, earning a grin from her.

Elena moved so that she was lying on top of him, her knees on either side of his waist. "No, the blame goes to someone else entirely."

Damon smirked sinfully. "Hmmm... Let me guess."

"You know what? No more talking," she murmured before moving her lips to his neck.

More than happy to oblige, Damon placed one hand on her hip while the other rose up to sink into her hair. After a passionate, yet soft make-out session, Damon moved her back to his side where they lay in silence until sleep claimed them both.


	22. The Last Dance

**a/n: so I wonder what happened to Alaric... Hmmm... But I am very excited that Elena revived Elijah; curious to see how that turns out because we all know Damon is going to be FURIOUS! :)**

TWENTY-TWO

Elena stood in one of the spare rooms, staring at the piles of boxes. She shook her head wondering how many other rooms looked like this and what hidden treasures she might find by going through everything. Biting her lip, she stepped forward and started going through the first box. She was looking for something to wear to the decade dance. It was strange to think that a year ago she had gone with Stefan and now she was going with Damon. Although he was technically going to be there as a chaperone and Stefan was going to be her date.

She had been so lost in thought over how much things had changed over a short amount of time that by the time she got to the third box, she realized she hadn't paid attention to any garment that she touched. She sighed heavily and opened her fourth box, determined to focus and pick out a dress before she wasted anymore time. As if on cue, she felt arms slide around her waist and lips against the curve of her shoulder.

She grinned and leaned back as Damon continued to dust her skin with light kisses and love bites. "You guys have so much stuff. You're like pack rats," she said as she placed her hands over his.

"That would be Stefan's doing," he informed her as he nipped at her earlobe. "He keeps everything."

"So none of this is yours?" Elena asked, turning her head as best she could to look at him.

Instead of answering her, he captured her lips with his and kissed her fiercely. During the kiss, he allowed her to move so that she was facing him before he pulled her as close as he possibly could. When she broke the kiss to breathe, he decided to give her a real answer, his hands slipping into the back pockets of her jeans. "What you saw in my room is mine. Everything else is just stuff."

"Why don't you guys get rid of it?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Why? It's not like they're hurting anyone sitting here, collecting dust."

"No," she answered and grinned up at him. "But it's my house now and I don't like clutter."

He returned her grin and shook his head before kissing her again. "So that's how it's going to be now, right? It's _your_ house," he said in a teasing manner.

Elena giggled and tilted her head to the side. "You're the one that gave it to me, remember?" she asked softly, reaching up to run her fingers through his hair. "You're just lucky I invited you in," she added.

"Oh is that right?" Damon mumbled playfully as he gave her ass a squeeze and pulled her even closer.

He hissed as she tightened her hold on his hair and yanked his head backwards. Her lips went to his throat instantly, her teeth nipping his skin. She could feel him harden and it brought a smile to her face along with a surge of heat through her body. "Do we really have to go to the decade dance?" she asked, her breath tickling his skin.

Damon tired to peer down at her, hissing as she bit down a bit harder. "Weren't you the one that said you were ready to go back to normal life? School, dances, et cetera?" Despite his desire to continue, Damon pulled back and moved his hands up to reach hers. He removed them from his hair and kissed her knuckles. "Look, I know this is you being scared because of what happened earlier, but I promise you, nothing is going to happen at this dance."

Elena shook her head. "Don't promise me something that you can't keep."

He nodded and pressed his lips against her forehead. "How about this? I promise to do my best to prevent anything from happening."

After a moment of consideration, Elena inclined her head. "Okay."

Damon gave a half smile and nodded towards the boxes behind her. "So, did you find anything?"

"I don't know, I kind of got distracted," she answered, returning his smile. She pulled her hands from his and laid them gently on his chest. Slowly, she started sliding them down, keeping her eyes on his the entire time until they stopped at his belt. "Remind me again why we just can't skip it and stay home?"

She could see Damon's jaw tick when she pulled the belt through the buckle. "Believe me, I want nothing more than to stay here and make love to you until we physically can't anymore, but it wouldn't be right. If something were to happen you would never forgive yourself and I don't want to have to watch you go through that kind of pain."

Elena tilted her head to the side as she thought about his words. As they sunk in she began to smile and eventually started to giggle. "Interesting."

"What?" he asked, narrowing her eyes at her again.

"You're saying we should go in case other people get hurt and I'm saying stay here and screw me senseless." Damon ground his teeth together at her words. She really was doing everything in her power to make him compliant. His body shook as her hand moved down just enough to cup him through his jeans. "I think we're rubbing off on each other."

Damon gave in. He reached out and held her head in place as he brought his lips to hers. Their tongues battled for dominance; both of them smirking into the kiss. He broke the kiss abruptly and moved his lips to her ear. "Compromise?"

"What did you have in mind?" she asked, undoing his belt.

"We'll go to the dance," he said and then traced the shell of her ear with his tongue. "We'll just be a little late."

Elena gave a brief nod to signal her approval. Her fingers undid the fly of his jeans and pushed them down his hips along with his boxers just enough so she could wrap her hand around him. He let out a strangled groan as he buried his face in the crook of her neck. After she stroked him a few times, Damon locked his arms around her and sped to the opposite side of the room. He propped her up against the wall and let his lips crash down on top of hers.

Elena closed her eyes and moved her hand faster, stroking his length in its entirety. He continued to kiss her with a fervor and heat that happened between them no matter what. As much as he tired to keep them at bay, his fangs half descended as she continued her ministrations. The fact that he had nipped her lips and drew blood wasn't helping the situation in the least. He groaned as she squeezed lightly and swiped the pad of her thumb over the tip.

Damon moved his lips to her neck after the fifth or so drop of blood. Any more and he wasn't going to be able to control himself. He kissed his way down to the collar of her shirt, frowning over the fact that it didn't dip as low as he would have liked. As he sank to his knees, he saw Elena pout when he withdrew from her touch. It didn't last long as he used his supernatural abilities to undress them both from the waist down. No sooner did it register that she was half nude did her head slam back against the wall; her fingers sinking into Damon's hair as his tongue touched her core.

It parted her slit over and over again, lapping up her arousal and toying with her clit. She adjusted her stance and he took advantage. As his lips enclosed the sensitive bundle of nerves, one hand rose so that he could sink his fingers into her. Elena cried out and closed her eyes. "Oh god, Damon..." she hissed as her fingers massaged his scalp. Her fingers would spasm and clench at the jet black strands, tugging, yet urging him on in various ways. Damon opened his eyes and looked up at her, surprised to see her brown eyes open looking down at him. He felt a shudder roll through both of their bodies and he added another finger, immediately sending her over the edge. She moaned his name as her body soared higher and higher with pleasure.

When she came down from her high, Damon's lips were at her neck again and his hands were on her waist, getting ready to hoist her up. In a matter of seconds she had her legs firmly locked around his waist as he pinned her to the wall. He smirked at her, signaling for her to make the next move. Without hesitating, she reached between them and guided him into her body. They hissed with pleasure as her inner walls clamped down on him, drawing him in further.

Her hands shot out to rest on his shoulders as she used his upper body as a means to meet his thrusts with her own. He alternated between fast and slow, hard and deep; hitting every spot that made her body truly come alive. Their nails dug into each other's skin as they held onto each other for dear life. Damon leaned in and pressed his lips to hers, swallowing her moans as he did so.

"Open your eyes," he whispered against her lips. "I want to see you come for me."

The words alone brought her that much closer to the edge. Forcing her eyes to remain open, she met his gaze dead on. He could see the passion blazing in those chocolate depths and it made him even more aroused; if that were possible. He could feel his fangs wanting to descend; the veins on his face trying to transform it.

Elena caught him by surprise as she lifted one hand to his face, her thumb brushing his lips. "I want to see," she panted.

He knew what she meant and if had wanted to hold that back he wouldn't have been able to. His fangs lengthened and his face transformed. The bluish red veins stood out prominently against his skin and his eyes had gone from light to dark in a matter of seconds. She started at him in awe. She had seen him like this before, but this time it was truly beautiful. Her fingers traced the veins on his skin before she drew him in to kiss his lips.

The moment he nicked her lip again and tasted her blood, he buried himself completely inside of her, sending them both into oblivion. Damon was shaken. They had shared blood before, but never before had he felt that connected to her. When he could see straight, she was tracing the veins on his face still until they receded with his fading blood lust. "You have no idea what you do to me," he whispered as he buried his face into the crook of her shoulder; his favorite place on her body.

"Likewise," she rasped, threading her fingers through his hair.

He grinned and placed a kiss on her heated skin. "We still have about an hour to kill. Are you up for it?"

"Are you?" she challenged.

He pulled back to look at her, that mischievous glint in his eyes. He rotated his hips, watching her gasp in surprise that he was still inside her. "I'll take that as a yes," he breathed. After all, he had told her that they were going to be late to the dance.

* * *

Elena relaxed against Damon as he held her close. The song was a slow one which was good for both of them. Elena was beyond exhausted. Damon's blood in her system didn't change the fact that she _ached_. A smile graced her lips and she turned her head into his neck to hide her blush from the rest of the crowd. "What?" he asked. She could practically hear the smirk in his voice.

"Nothing," she mumbled and kissed his skin. When she was able to look the other way again, she saw Caroline and Matt. Her head snapped up and she nodded towards them. "Did anyone fill her in on what's going on?"

"No," Damon said as if realizing it for the first time. "I'll get Stefan on it," he assured her, but hesitated, knowing he would have to momentarily leave her side. With that, Damon shook his head and took hold of her hand. "Why don't we just go together?"

"I like that idea," she said and followed him through the crowd until they found Stefan.

"You two might want to watch it," he said, smirking at both of them. "There are teachers everywhere whispering about how _close_ the two of you are."

Damon shrugged and slung an arm around her shoulder. "I do not care. I have bigger things to worry about than what they think."

Elena nodded in agreement. "I have a favor to ask," she said and then bit her lip.

Stefan inclined his head. "I figured. What's up?" he asked.

"Blondie is here and I need you to go fill her in on what's been going on. She's been so preoccupied with her human that she hasn't been in the loop."

Stefan's brow rose at that. He definitely wanted to comment on how Caroline wasn't the only one preoccupied with "her human" but knew it was for the best if he kept his mouth shut. "I can do that," he said and left them.

"Thank you," Elena said and saw Jeremy slipping into one of the halls. She turned to Damon and nodded in that direction. "I'm gonna go check on Jeremy."

"I'll keep the witch entertained," he said and watched Elena part her way through the crowd. Immediately, his game face went up as he made his way to Bonnie. He grabbed her and started dancing as if it were no big deal. "Are you a hundred percent sure this will work?" he asked, keeping his voice as low as possible.

Bonnie nodded. "As I told you earlier, it has to be this way. I'm sorry I made you lie to Elena, but Klaus has to believe I'm dead for this to work. And he won't believe it if Elena knows my death was faked."

Damon watched her with cold eyes as they continued to dance. He had hated it when Bonnie showed up at the boarding house earlier. Elena had just gone upstairs to look for an outfit when the witch told him of her plan to fake her death. He had almost told Elena when he went up to see her, but distracted the both the best way he could. "I don't like lying to her."

"I know."

"No, you don't know," he countered and pulled her close so that she could feel the power of his hold. "You don't know the full extent of what you're asking me to do. You could have done this all on your own and told us afterwards, but instead you had to drag me into this." He let her go and moved to stand right in her face. "Elena is not going to forgive me as easily as you think she will."

"She-"

"Bonnie, I need to talk to you. Outside. Now," Elena said as she came up behind them and surprised them both. She grabbed hold of her friend's arm and proceeded to drag her through the crowd.

"Elena-" Damon started and she stopped only to turn and glare at him.

"Not now," she said and started moving again. Once they were outside, Elena turned to Bonnie. "You are_ not_ dying for me. Do you understand me, Bonnie? I won't let you."

"This is my choice Elena. If my death prevents anyone else from dying and this from happening to anyone else, I will gladly do it."

"Bonnie-"

"If it were me and you were the witch," she started, looking at Elena, pleading with her eyes for an honest answer. "If our places were reversed, tell me you wouldn't do the same."

Elena's lack of response told her everything.

"See?"

Elena shook her head. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I knew you'd react this way. I'm sorry that I told Damon, but-"

"You _what?_"

Bonnie froze with fear. "I thought that's why you were mad at him," she answered weakly.

"Damon knew about this? How?"

"I told him earlier."

Before Elena could even begin to process that information, Alaric showed up with a sense of urgency. "Klaus is here," he said and waved for them to follow him. "Come on," he said and led them into the school.

* * *

By the time Damon found them, Bonnie was already locked inside the cafeteria with Alaric. He could feel her power crackling in the air. Elena and Stefan were pounding on the metals doors Bonnie had sealed shut and it nearly broke him. He could see the pain etched on Elena's face as she watched her friend use all her strength and energy to get rid of their enemy. Even though he knew her death was only temporary, it killed him. It killed him because he knew the consequences would be Elena related and he was far from ready to lose her.

When the air calmed, the doors burst open and Elena fell to her knees beside her friend's body. Her sobs cut through Damon like a knife. "No!" she cried, over and over again.

"Get her out of here," Damon snapped at Stefan.

Elena looked at him then. It was the way she used to look at him; full of hate and betrayal. He knew it was her overload of emotions, but it still hurt. "Bonnie's dead!"

"I know that," he mumbled and looked at Stefan. "Get her out of here and to the boarding house. I'll take care of the body."

Stefan knew Elena wasn't going to leave without a fight so he simply took away her ability to do so. He locked his arms around her waist and hoisted her up. She kicked and screamed, but he used his speed to get her as far away from this mess as he could.

With them gone, Damon turned his attention to the witch. He took a deep breath and picked her up. He carried her to the car, placing her in the trunk so that no one else would know she was there. "Damon? Have you seen Bonnie or Elena?" Jeremy asked as he came jogging up to the car.

He reached out and laid his hand on Jeremy's shoulder. "Get in the car, Gilbert. I have something to tell you."

Jeremy looked at where Damon was touching him and then slowly back up to the vampire's face. "Damon, what's going on? What happened?"

"Get in the car and I'll tell you," he repeated and let go to slide in behind the wheel.

* * *

After several blocked attempts at getting out of the boarding house and away from Stefan, Elena paced the parlor room, waiting for Damon to come home so she could yell. Yelling at Stefan only made her angrier because he hadn't known and he only agreed with her instead of fighting back like she wanted. Just as she was getting to the point of pulling out her hair in frustration, she heard Damon's car in the driveway.

She stopped moving and waited for him to come inside. She couldn't see him, but she saw Stefan nod from his position in the hall before he headed upstairs. Damon hesitated before he made his way into the room, ready for whatever it was that she was going to say or do.

"You knew," she said. "You knew and you didn't tell me."

Her voice was soft, but he could hear the ice. "Yes."

The tears she had been fighting off for the last hour or so were now flowing freely down her cheeks. Damon crossed the room in the blink of an eye and took her into his arms. She beat against his chest, trying to do what, she wasn't sure. "She's dead!" she sobbed. "My best friend is dead and you..."

"Elena, you have to let me explain," he said, tightening his hold on her. He could already feel her strength slipping and her movements slowing. When she finally stopped hitting him, her fingers curled around his shirt to hold onto him while she sobbed onto his chest. "Bonnie was here earlier. She told me that in order to use the power she needed to, she had to die. It was the only way to use all of it. It was the price she had to pay for such power." Damon stroked her back, trying to soothe her and he kept his voice low as he told her the next part. "She had a vision earlier that Klaus would be at the dance, yet it wouldn't be Klaus. The other witches kept putting the same spell in her mind and she listened to them."

He stopped and tilted her face up so he could see her. "Bonnie's alive."

"How?" she asked, her voice harsh from crying.

"The spell she'd been pointed to was one to help her fake her death. By using her power on Alaric, she was able to invoke the spell. Bonnie's alive, Elena. She faked her death so that Klaus would assume that we are powerless against him. This way we still have a chance."

"Why didn't anyone tell _me_?"

"Because in order for Klaus to believe that Bonnie was dead, we needed you to believe it. He saw your reaction tonight if he was really there." He cupped her face and let his emotions show in his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Elena. You have no idea how much I hate myself for putting you through this."

Elena's emotions were all over the place. She had gone from happy to angry to wrecked, and back again, causing her to be more than exhausted in every aspect. She stepped out of Damon's embrace and he let her. She pinched the bridge of her nose and sat carefully on the edge of the couch. "I can't... This is..."

Damon sank to his knees before her and took her hands in his. "Listen to me very carefully, okay? I was going to tell you that she had to die in order to use her powers, but it was going to be like this. I put you through hell and I-"

She cut him off with a shake of her head and pulled her hands from his. "I just need a minute to myself."

He stared up at her, not ready to give up just yet. "I'll be upstairs, but I want you to promise me that you'll join me."

Elena let his words sink in and she nodded briefly. She cupped his face and lowered her lips to his. "I'm sorry," she whispered against his lips. And she was sorry because she had thought of a way to get the help they needed without sacrificing any of her loved ones.

Damon placed his hands over hers and shook his head. "You have nothing to be sorry about, Elena. I love you," he said as he brushed his lips over hers again.

"I love you too," she replied and watched as he stood up. "I'll be up in a bit," she assured him.

Her eyes never strayed from his body as he disappeared up the stairs. Once he was out of sight, Elena was on her feet going towards the basement. She hurried to the cell with Elijah's body, knowing that if Damon heard, he would be down here in a flash before she got to go through with her plan. That thought kept her from hesitating as she dropped to her knees and pulled the dagger from Elijah's chest.


	23. Klaus

**a/n: I just loved this episode! I knew what I wanted to do the minute it ended which is why I got it done as fast as I used to. All I'm going to say is that there's still a few more episodes left and let you interpret the rest...**

TWENTY-THREE

Damon had sworn that he wouldn't fall asleep until Elena was safely beside him, but his body had other ideas. Their physical marathon the day before combined with his lack of blood had allowed him to fall asleep easily. When he woke up, he cursed out loud. He reached out to the other side of the bed and froze at the emptiness he felt. The sheets were still cold which meant...

"Elena?" he called out. He listened for her, but heard nothing. Not even a heartbeat. "Fuck," he mumbled and sped across the hall to Stefan's room. He pounded on the door until his brother answered. "Have you seen Elena?"

"No."

A slew of curses in every language came out of his mouth as he rushed downstairs. "Elena!" he yelled as he searched the house. The more he looked, the more he was ready to tear it apart.

"Damon," Stefan said sternly, drawing his attention. He sped over to the younger Salvatore and felt his blood run cold at the sight of the basement door slightly ajar.

"She didn't," he hissed.

"I didn't look," Stefan answered, stepping back so that Damon could take the lead down the stairs.

Damon already knew what he would find; an empty cell. Elijah and the dagger were long gone and all he needed was one guess as to where Elena would be. He balled his fists at his side, fighting the urge to lash out at his brother. "Call her," he bit out.

Stefan could tell by his tone and his stance that Damon wouldn't be able to speak to her. He was angry. In all the years he had known Damon, he had never seen him this angry before. It scared him. He shuddered and went upstairs wordlessly to retrieve his phone. He stood in the parlor and dialed for Elena. After the third attempt, she answered. "Stefan?"

"Where the hell are you?" he asked.

Damon was in front of him in an instant, wanting to hear everything she said.

"I'm with Elijah."

"Elena-"

"I'm safe," she assured him. "If he were going to kill me, he would have done it already."

"That's not the point."

From the hesitation he heard on her end, he could tell that she knew exactly what he meant. "Tell him I'm sorry," she whispered.

Damon's eyes narrowed and Stefan could see the sheer fury in his now dark blue eyes. He chose his next words carefully. "Look, whatever you're doing, don't. Just come home and-"

"I can't. Stefan, I'm sorry, but this is for the best," she explained. "Just let me do this. All I'm asking is that you keep Damon from doing anything irrational."

Stefan eyed his brother wearily. "I'll do my best."

"Thank you," she said. There was silence for a moment before the line simply went dead. He knew she had just hung up without saying goodbye. He pocketed the phone and looked at Damon.

"I'm going after her."

"No," Stefan said, blocking his path to the door. "She's right. If Elijah was going to hurt her, he would have done it already. Just let her do this and she'll be back before you know it."

Damon shoved him backwards with enough force to make him stumble. Yet, he remained in his place instead of running out the door.

"I know you're angry, I can see that, but try and calm yourself down. When you do, I'll be more than happy to help you look for her. In this state, you're only going to make things worse."

Damon met his gaze and Stefan could see the pain under the fury. "I want to know the minute she calls," he said and sped upstairs to his room.

* * *

Damon paced his room trying to calm down, but it only seemed to agitate him more. He was beyond furious. He was angry to the point where he wasn't sure whether he was going to kiss Elena or kill her himself the next time he saw her. As of right now, he was leaning more towards killing her. That way, she could never run off with an Original and scare him like this ever again.

It wasn't until he heard Stefan's phone ring from downstairs that he left his room. "Jenna?"

"Is Elena there? Or Jeremy? Neither one of them is answering their phone."

Damon narrowed his eyes, wondering why she had called Stefan when she knew Elena wasn't seeing him anymore. Needing somewhat of a distraction, he moved to the liquor cart and poured himself a drink before tuning back into the conversation.

"No, she's not here. Neither is Jeremy. Is everything okay? Are you alright?"

"I don't know. I turned my phone on and there was all these messages from Elena telling me to stay away from Ric, but I didn't recognize the number. Now he's calling me, saying he wants to meet at the Grill to explain himself."

Damon tossed back his drink and shook his head, but Stefan wasn't about to let her go anyway. "Just do me a favor and stay put. Where are you?"

"I came back to the house this morning. What's going on?"

"Just sit tight and we'll explain everything soon," he promised and hung up.

"So that means Alaric has Katherine in his apartment," Damon said, his voice rough from all the pent up anger.

"He's probably been compelling her."

"Is that even possible?" He shook his head and set his empty glass on the cart. "You know what, it probably is. Why don't you go check on Katherine? I'll go talk to Jenna."

"Are you sure you can handle it?" Stefan asked. He was worried about what Damon might do. His anger towards Elena had put him in a very bad emotional place.

Damon nodded. "As long as I don't see Elijah or Elena, I'll be completely fine. I won't kill Alaric either if that's what you're really worried about."

"And Jenna?"

"I'll probably bring her back here. What are you going to do about Katherine?"

Stefan thought about it before he answered. "I don't really know yet," he answered, although it wasn't the truth. He was already thinking of the liquid vervain he had steadily been ingesting to build up a tolerance to it just as Katherine had done. He would give some to her so that the compulsion wouldn't work and hopefully she would feel indebted to him for when they really needed it.

Damon inclined his head, "Let me know if Elena calls you."

"Why wouldn't she call you?"

"The same reason she called you earlier," he said and took off before Stefan could reply.

* * *

Damon stood outside the Gilbert house as he reached out with his senses to see if anything was off before he made his presence known. When everything seemed okay, he walked up to the door and knocked. Jenna answered looking surprised. "I thought Stefan was coming?"

"Does it matter?" Damon snapped. "I thought you knew I was dating her."

She nodded. "I know that, it's just I was talking to Stefan." She shook her head and he saw the confusion in her eyes. "It's just been a strange few days."

Damon snorted. "You haven't talked to Ric yet have you?"

"Actually..." her voice tapered off at the same time Damon heard footsteps coming down the stairs. His jaw locked at the sight of Alaric wearing a smug grin.

"Damon. I didn't expect to see you today. Where's Elena?"

"Out."

He shrugged and walked to the kitchen acting as if he owned the place. "I was just about to fix us some lunch. Would you care to join us?"

Damon said nothing. Jenna studied his tense face for awhile before she turned her attention to Alaric who had already started making lunch. "What the hell is going on?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" Alaric replied, giving her a sickly sweet smile.

"You still need to tell me about Isobel. You said you would explain yourself."

"Ah yes," he said, holding the knife loosely in his hands. "The reason I've been acting so strangely, keeping things to myself and all, is because I'm obsessed with vampires. It's something I shared with my wife. Late wife? She's really dead now isn't she?" he asked, looking straight at Damon.

Damon forced himself not to speak. He was picturing the look on Elena's face that night, holding Isobel's necklace. She had gone from having no parents, to two, and now she was back to one.

"You like vampires don't you Damon?"

"Does it matter?"

"Why wouldn't it?"

"Alaric, what the hell are you talking about?" Jenna snapped.

"Vampires," he said again, making him sound truly insane. "They're real."

"What?"

"They exist. They're not just figments of our imagination or creatures from legends and myths. They walk among us just like the werewolves and witches."

"Werewolves..." Jenna breathed. She turned around and ran her hand through her hair. "Now I know you're just fucking crazy."

"I can show you," Alaric said before coming at Damon with the knife. Damon wasted no time in ramming him up against the wall. He took the knife and pressed it to Alaric's throat, cutting him enough so that some blood began to flow.

"Damon!" Jenna shrieked having seen him move faster than she thought was possible. "What is going on?"

"Jenna, I need you to leave. I need you to start running out of here and keep going until you can't anymore."

"But-"

He looked at her over his shoulder, letting her see his vampire face. "Now!" he demanded.

She wasted no time before fleeing from the house. "That's no fun," Alaric said, causing Damon to apply more pressure to the knife. "You can kill this body if you want, but what would your precious Elena say then?"

Damon growled and used his other hand to punch Alaric. He went down and Damon tossed the knife away. When he was sure that the Alaric was going to stay down, he took off after Jenna. He found her at the end of the block, doubled over, panting and crying at the same time. Her heart beat was erratic and her breathing was sketchy. "Jenna-"

"Stay away from me!" she hissed and tried to move away. Instead, she stumbled, but Damon caught her before she fell.

He lifted her up and held her close. "I'm going to take you to the boarding house. You'll be safe there. We'll explain everything, okay?"

Despite how much she wanted to run and never look back, she knew her body was done. "Okay," she whispered and clung to Damon in order to keep from falling.

"Hold on as tight as you can," he advised and then he was running as fast as he could to the boarding house with her in his arms. After depositing her on the couch, he went to the kitchen to get her some water. While he was there, he pulled out his phone and stared at it. Giving in, he dialed Elena's number.

"Damon?" she answered, uncertainty in her voice.

"Jenna's here. Alaric went after her," he said, knowing that was all he needed to say to get her to come back. And the worst part was, it proved that he wasn't a good enough reason alone to make her come back.

* * *

Elena stood there, trying to wrap her mind around the information Elijah had given her. She didn't know what was more shocking; the fact that he and Klaus were brothers or that the Aztec sun and moon curse was a fake. Instead, there was a curse on Klaus himself, one that still required the sacrifice of the doppelganger. Elijah had been kind enough to give her some time to absorb this before he continued when her phone rang. Her heart sank as Damon's picture appeared on the screen.

"Damon?"

"Jenna's here. Alaric went after her."

"What? Is she okay?"

"I was there. She's fine."

"I-I'll be there soon," she said and hung up. She looked at Elijah and he simply stared back. "I have to go."

"That was not part of today's arrangement."

"I know that, but Jenna's my family. I promise I will come back, but she needs me and I need to see that she's okay. You have my word. I'll come back." Her heart was racing in fear for Jenna and for what would happen when she saw Damon again.

"Your word means nothing until you prove that it does," he said, but inclined his head. "Hopefully you really do mean it this time around."

"Thank you," she said and immediately started running for her car.

Instead of sitting in the car outside of the boarding house, thinking about the worst, Elena practically jumped from the car and ran into the mansion. She found Jenna sitting on the couch, staring off into space with a dazed expression. "Jenna? Oh thank god," she breathed once she could see that there was no physical damage.

She moved to hug her, but Jenna jumped back. "Is it true?"

Elena nodded, her heart breaking at the tears in her aunt's eyes. "I didn't want to tell you because I wanted to keep you safe. I thought that the less you knew about it, the better, but one thing led to another and... I'm so sorry."

"Sorry is not going to cut it for this Elena," she said, glaring at her niece. "I'm supposed to be protecting you."

"I know."

She gave Elena a hard stare. "How many others know?" Elena could only stare back at her, her lips quivering. "Jeremy?" The pause gave her her answer and Jenna said the next name with bitterness. "John?"

"They were all involved and-"

"I think you better start from the beginning," Jenna interrupted.

Elena nodded. "As long as you promise to just listen." When Jenna agreed, Elena began to tell her everything.

* * *

Stefan paced on the other side of the wall as he listened to Elena speak. He could hear the pain in her voice and it killed him that he had put her in this position. He was surprised that Damon hadn't come downstairs yet, but the more he thought about it, he realized it was for the best. The last thing Elena needed right now was a fight. Just as he pulled himself out of his thoughts, he heard Jenna say that it was time for her to call it a night. "Would you like a ride home?" he offered, stepping out from his hiding spot.

He realized it was a mistake after it was too late. He saw Jenna take a half step backwards. She might know what he was, but she was definitely not ready to face it. "I'll take her on my way to the Lockwood's."

"You're going back?"

"I promised Elijah I would," she said as she reached in her pocket for her car keys. "I'll be right out," she said to Jenna who took the keys and practically bolted out of the mansion.

"She could stay here. It's safer that way."

"I know, but that would be too much for her." Her eyes darted to look behind him at the staircase before she looked down and cleared her throat. "I'll see you later."

As she turned to leave, she felt the air around her stir and Damon was standing before her, blocking her way and holding her so tight she thought her bones would snap. "Just where the hell do you think you're going?"

"I'm going back to Elijah. I promised him that-"

"I don't give a damn what you said to him. You're not leaving this house."

"Damon-"

"Do you even realize what you just did?"

Unable to stand around and watch, Stefan surged forward and forced Damon to let go. He knew he was still the weaker of the two, even with his recent change of diet, but he was capable of holding his own for a short while. "Let her go. He hasn't hurt her yet. I take that as a sign that he isn't going to."

Damon was glaring at Elena who was glaring right back. "We'll talk about this when I come home."

"Oh yes we will," Damon said, watching as she turned her back on him and left for a second time. When she was gone, he turned to Stefan, giving him a look that terrified the younger sibling. "You stopped me from going after her twice now. I strongly advise that it doesn't happen a third time," he warned and disappeared back up to his room where he was determined to wait until Elena came home. _If _she came home.

* * *

Elena felt awful the entire ride back to Elijah. She had seen the look in Damon's eyes and it nearly killed her. She had to keep reminding herself that she was doing this for him and everyone else. No one was going to die to save her life. Not if she could help it. If that meant Damon being mad at her, she would have to deal with it. She took a minute to compose herself in the car before getting out and meeting Elijah in the backyard. A shiver cascaded down her spine as she found him at the spot where she had kissed Damon after they had taken down Katherine the first time. She closed her eyes and raised a hand to her lips as she felt the ghost of his kiss.

"I'm surprised you returned."

"I told you I would."

"You also killed me."

Elena inclined her head. She was no longer interested in his story telling about Katherine and their apparent love story. She wanted to get the information that he was willing to share and go home to face the inevitable fight with Damon. "You had just finished telling me that the Aztec curse isn't real. That the curse is actually on Klaus himself?"

"My father found out that my mother had had an affair and Klaus was not really his child. He went wild and killed her lover, only to discover something he never thought was possible."

"Which was...?"

"His biological father was a werewolf. Actually, he was the _the_ werewolf."

Elena's eyes went wide as her heart nearly skipped several beats. "What does that make Klaus?"

"A hybrid. He is both a werewolf and a vampire."

"How is that even possible?"

Elijah shrugged. He had never questioned if could be possible because it was true and there was nothing that could change it. "But my father had a curse put on him that kept the wolf in him dormant. The curse still requires the sacrifice of the doppelganger, but everything else was part of the one Klaus made up."

Elena's heart sank for a split second she thought she was free. "But we have the dagger. We can still kill him before he gets that far, right?"

Elijah shook his head slowly. "Werewolves are not hurt by silver. That was a legend they started a long time ago. The dagger would only wound him for a moment, but he would heal."

She frowned. "I thought you said everything had a weakness. That was nature's way of balancing things."

"I didn't say he was _all _powerful. Klaus can be stopped, but it must be by the most raw sense of natural power."

"A witch," Elena breathed in understanding.

"A witch," he repeated. "If there's a witch out there with enough power and the know how to use it, Klaus can be stopped. But it has to be on the night of the full moon while he is in transition. That is when he is at his weakest."

"What if I told you I knew a witch with that much power?"

Elijah thought it over for a moment and then smirked. "I would tell you that I know of a way to keep you alive from the sacrifice."

Elena's heart stopped and her knees threatened to give out. "What?"

"I did the research while Klaus prepared for Katerina's sacrifice. But she took matters into her own hands and well, you know how that goes."

"So does this mean we have a deal? We help each other and you keep everyone I love safe?"

"We help each other and I can promise that no one you love will die by my own hands. I cannot promise to protect them fully from others, but I will do my absolute best." He paused and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll even throw in the part where I save you from the sacrifice for free."

Tears of joy sprang to her eyes. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me until all of this is over," he said and stepped away from her. "Shall we return to the Salvatore's?"

She nodded slowly. "Just tell me one thing."

Elijah's brow rose as he waited to hear what she was going to say.

"Were you in love with Katherine?"

"Wasn't everyone?" he countered before turning and walking to the car. Elena sighed and followed him.

* * *

Elena was sure she broke a few laws on the way to the boarding house because she got there in record time. The happiness that she was feeling seemed to dissipate the moment she opened the door and heard fighting. She ran to the parlor and sure enough, Stefan and Damon were attacking one another. "Stop it!" she yelled.

Immediately, both brothers stopped and looked up at her.

"What the hell are you fighting over?"

Damon was glaring at his brother, trying his best to ignore Elena. He had let his emotions get the better of him and he had taken it out on Stefan. They had disagreed about whether or not letting Elena go had been the right thing to do. Which had led to an argument about who was better for Elena. Things had spiraled from there and now the parlor looked like it had been torn apart by a hurricane.

His eyes moved to Elijah as he sauntered into the room and stood beside Elena. "You invited him in?" he asked, his voice hard.

"He's on our side," she said, trying to get him to look at her. "He agreed to help us take down Klaus if we work with him. And he has a way to keep me alive through the sacrifice." Damon's eyes met hers at that. "All he wants is an apology."

Her eyes never left Damon's as Stefan stepped forward. "I'm sorry for the part I played in your death. It won't happen again."

"Damon?" Elena said softly, still staring at him.

"The three of you can go to hell," he spat before leaving the room.

"He'll come around. Right now he's just...angry," Stefan explained.

"I'll go talk to him," Elena said, knowing that they were going to have to talk at some point. It might as well be now. She found him in his room, pacing in front of the bed. "Damon-"

"Don't even start with me Elena. Do you realize what you've done?"

"I did what I had to."

He turned to look at her and shook his head. "You lied to me."

"Like you've never done that to me?"

"I told you why I didn't say anything about Bonnie. We needed you to believe it."

"That's exactly why I brought Elijah back. I'm not letting _anyone_ die for me. Not Bonnie and especially not you." She closed her eyes to force the tears away as she took a step closer to him. "I'm the only one that has to be involved and I will not let anyone risk their life for me. That's my choice. I would rather sacrifice myself then live with the knowledge that people died for me. I couldn't do it."

"And how do you think we would feel if we had to live without you?"

Elena knew he was right, but she was determined for her to see her point. "It doesn't matter. Elijah found a way to keep me alive. If this works, none of us has to die."

"See that's just it. You said 'if' this works. I'm not prepared to trust him with your life based on an if. Did he tell you exactly how he plans to keep you alive?"

"No."

Damon snorted and raked a hand through his hair. "Maybe he doesn't really have a plan to keep you alive. Did that ever cross your mind?" he asked. She cast her eyes to the ground, giving him her answer. "Of fucking course it crossed your mind, but you don't care, do you?"

"I told you Damon, no one is dying because of me. I'm no better than anyone else. I'm not special. People have no right to die for me. I won't let it happen."

Damon crossed the distance between them and gripped her biceps. "What if I told you I had a way to end this? Right here, right now?"

Elena had a feeling she knew what was coming next, but she nodded anyway.

"I could turn you."

"No," she said, trying to step away from him, but he only tightened his grip.

"No?" he questioned and shook his head, giving a slightly hysterical laugh. "Let me get this straight. You broke up with Stefan because he wouldn't turn you and now you're saying you don't want to?"

"Not now. Not like this," Elena said as tears dripped down her cheeks. "Klaus killed Katherine's entire family because she turned to escape her fate. If I did that, I would be no better than her and it would defeat the purpose of me trying to save everyone."

He turned her in his arms and used one hand to tilt her head to the side, the other arm looped around her waist, pinning her arms to her side, as he bent his head to her neck. "What if I don't give you a choice?"

Elena swallowed hard and blinked against her tears. "Then I would hate you forever and nothing would change that."

His lips dropped to her skin and Elena squeezed her eyes closed as she felt the scrape of his fangs. After what seemed like a long time, Damon withdrew, retreating to the other side of the room. "Then we're at an impasse."

"I'm trying to keep everyone safe. Including you. Why won't you let me?" she asked, forcing herself not to shake.

"My life isn't worth saving, Elena."

"It is to me."

"Well, you're wrong."

Elena stared at him as she wrapped her arms around herself, unsure of what to do next. "Damon..." she started, but the lump in her throat prevented her from saying anything more. Instead, she shut her eyes as the tears began to flow freely down her cheeks.

In an instant, Damon was in front of her again. This time, he cupped her face gently and tilted it up so that he could see her. She opened her eyes and saw those icy blue orbs staring back at her. This time, she knew what was going to happen next and it only made new tears spring to her eyes. "I can't sit back and do nothing while you hand yourself over to Klaus. I love you and I am not ready to give you up." He stroked her face with the pads of his thumbs, wiping away her tears in the process. "And if my actions cause you to hate me, then so be it, because I cannot lose you."

"Damon-"

He cut her off by pressing his lips to hers. They both knew it was a goodbye kiss. They could taste it.

Damon leaned his forehead against hers the moment he broke the contact between their lips. He let his arms slide down so that he could pull her close as human possible. Elena lifted her arms to do the same, knowing that when they broke apart, that would signal the end of their relationship. By trying to save it, she had ruined it.

Slowly, she felt Damon pulling away from her. The moment their bodies were no longer touching, he was gone from her sight. Elena closed her eyes and tilted her head up. She had made her choice and she was determined to prove that it was the right one.


	24. The Last Day

**a/n: I know this one is super short, but no matter how many times I rewrote it, this seemed like enough. I thought the episode was perfect as is. I didn't want to switch Damon and Stefan's roles because of how I wrote the last chapter, so this is what resulted. As far as the rest of the episode is concerned (from where the chapter ends), it goes exactly like the show execpt without all the Stelena mushiness (they did go on the hike though). I'll decide whether or not Elena had the "I don't really want to be a vampire" talk with Stefan or not later on.**

**okay, so is anyone else thinking this or just me: if Klaus drains Elena dry, there won't be ANY blood left in her system...human OR vampire which means she will NOT turn...right? Just a thought.**

TWENTY-FOUR

Damon moved to lie on his back and closed his eyes. He had spent the night lying on his side, staring at the empty side of the bed where Elena should have been. Instead, she was in one of the guests rooms. He hated the distance between them and more than once he had been ready to do whatever it took to have her back by his side, but he knew she wouldn't change her mind. He wasn't willing to change his either. He was not going to let her sacrifice herself for everyone else.

Even now he could hear Stefan, Elena, and Elijah downstairs talking about a magical elixir that would bring her back. That got him out of bed and in the parlor in a matter of seconds. His gaze immediately sought Elena's and he could tell that she wanted his opinion even though she knew she wasn't going to like it.

"Are you all delusional here?"

"Damon-" Stefan started.

"You're putting your hopes into this elixir given to you by the man that you killed," he said, looking straight at Elena.

"It will bring me back to life," she said, getting to her feet. "I thought that was what you wanted? A way for all of us to come out alive after this. Well, there it is."

"You don't know that it will work."

"You don't know that it won't," Elena countered.

"What about John's ring?"

Elijah shook his head. "The doppleganger is a supernatural entity. The chances of it working are very slim." He looked at Damon and then at Elena, smirking at the way they were staring each other down. "The night of the full moon, the witch will channel the moon while the sacrifices are made. One vampire and one werewolf representing either side of Klaus. Then he will drink from the doppleganger until the point of her death." Slowly, the three of them looked at Elijah and he held up the bottle with the potion in it. "And this will bring her back. I am sure of it."

Before anyone had a chance to reply, they heard a loud crashing noise followed by Alaric's voice. "Jenna, put that down!"

They raced to the hallway to see her pointing a crossbow at him. "They said that you're Klaus," she said, her hands trembling.

"I was. He let me go. He's in his own body now."

"Prove it," Jenna demanded.

Alaric glanced around the room and gave a slight nod. "The first time we were together, Jeremy came in right as I was-"

"It's him," Jenna interrupted and lowered the crossbow.

Elena and everyone else looked down for a moment, waiting for the awkward moment to pass.

"He sent me here to deliver a message," Alaric said.

"What is it?" Damon asked.

"The sacrifice. It's happening tonight."

There was another bout of silence as everyone absorbed his words. "I think you should tell us everything," Stefan said and led the way to the parlor.

Elena watched as Damon walked the opposite way, up to his room, and slammed the door. She glanced back at the parlor and then began walking upstairs. They needed to talk and she didn't care who was listening. She entered his room without knocking and from the look on his face, she could tell he hadn't heard her following him.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"We need to talk."

He shook his head. "Everything that needed to be said already was."

"That's not true."

"You said you were willing to die and I said I wasn't going to let you. What more could there be?"

"Elijah swears by that elixir. It _will_ bring me back, Damon."

"You _think_ it will, Elena. That's not the same thing as knowing."

Elena inhaled deeply and took a step forward, her head held high. "I get that you're angry with me, but you have to understand that I'm doing it to protect _everyone._ Jenna, Jeremy, Matt, Bonnie, Caroline, Tyler, Alaric, Stefan, and you," she said, stepping closer with every name that left her lips. "Especially you," she whispered and took his hands in hers. "I know how bad it would be if I died and I don't like that you would have to suffer, but this is my problem. None of you would have been in this mess if it weren't for me."

Damon's eyes filled with emotions; pain, hate, fury, rage, and love. It made Elena's heart break to see him like this. He moved his hands so that their fingers were linked and he brought their joined hands to his lips. He brushed his lips over her knuckles and then shook his head. "I do understand, but I don't think you understand _my_ reasons."

"I-"

He shook his head to interrupt her and went on to explain. "I've been alive for many lifetimes, Elena. I've seen and done things that you haven't even thought about yet. I've _lived_. But my life never had any meaning until you came along. Without you, my life will never mean anything again. If you thought I was bad over losing Katherine, you have no idea how much worse I'll be without you."

Tears gathered in both their eyes as they stared at each other. She wanted to tell him that he and Stefan were the only ones on her list of loved ones that had truly lived, but she couldn't find the will to speak. Instead, she pried her fingers from his and placed them on either side of his face. She met his gaze and watched his eyes follow the tear that spilled down her cheek. Slowly, she closed the gap between them and brought his face down to hers. Just like their last kiss, this one also felt like a goodbye. Their mouths moved as one, fusing together passionately. Damon placed an arm around her waist and drew her closer, the other hand reaching up to sink into her hair, cradling the back of her head.

Damon was the one to break the kiss. He did it abruptly, causing their cheeks to scrape one another. They were both silent as they caught their breath. Damon placed a sweet kiss on her forehead and Elena stepped back enough to look him in the eye again.

"I have to do this," she whispered. "I hope that someday you'll understand."

He gave a brief nod and watched her slowly back away to the door. When her hand was on the knob, Damon spoke again, making her pause. "And I hope _you _will understand my actions someday."

Elena turned around to ask him what he meant by that only to feel the air around her stir from his quick movement. He pressed himself against her and the door, trapping her in case she tried to run. His lips descended on hers harshly, letting his desperation take over. If this was going to be their last time together, whether it was because she died or ended up hating him, he was going to make it memorable for the both of them.

He reached down to undo her jeans as fast as he could. He pushed them down far enough so that when he gripped her thighs to haul her up, she could easily leave them on the floor. He ripped her underwear, letting the shredded pieces fall to the ground. Elena wrapped her legs around his waist and wound her arms around his neck, letting her fingers dive into his hair as he freed himself. In a matter of seconds he was buried deep inside her body, earning low moan from both of them.

Damon thrust harder and deeper with each stroke, pushing them both to the brink fairly quickly. Their mouths never separated except to give Elena a moment to breathe. As her walls started clutching at him more spastically, he knew she was about to come. He increased his pace just enough that they both reached their climax at the same time. Damon's mouth detached from hers so that he could sink his fangs into his wrist. He put it to her mouth, knowing she was lost in oblivion and wouldn't notice before his fangs sank into her neck, sending her higher.

As they came down, Damon kissed her again, this time tasting their blood and tears mixing together. They both redressed awkwardly after Damon moved back. It wasn't until Elena reached up to wipe her tears that she discovered the blood on her lips. She looked at him with horror in her eyes as she realized what he had meant before initiating their encounter.

"Elena-"

She interrupted him with a harsh slap across the face. "How dare you!" she hissed and turned to open the door.

"Now I know you'll come back," he said, but he had seen the fury in her eyes. For the first time in a long time, he actually felt guilty.

Before she had the chance to reply, Stefan came racing up the stairs. He took one look at Elena and seeing the blood on her lips, charged at Damon. They may have been together, but Elena definitely did not deserve the decision to turn being forced upon her. That, and he was still angry about their fight the previous night.

Elena moved out of their way, too stunned to even yell at them to stop. Jenna and Alaric stopped short in the doorway as they watched the scene unfold in front of them. It wasn't until Damon picked up a sharp piece of wood that Elena snapped out of her daze. "Damon, no!" she yelled, but it was already too late. The stake was lodged into Stefan's stomach and he collapsed to the ground.

Damon sat on his haunches, watching Elena place his brother's head in her lap. She turned to look at him, her face streaked with tears, blood staining her lips and it hit him. He had made her hate him all over again. Without a word, he took off to the parlor, leaving Alaric and Jenna to help Elena. He stopped and raked a hand through his hair, wishing he could take it all back.

"I see we won't be needing this anymore," Elijah said from behind him, returning the bottle of elixir to the box it had come from.

He looked at Elijah, his eyes going wide.

"She's going to hate you for this," he stated to which Damon could only nod.

"I'll just have to find a way to fix it."

Elijah gave him a cynical look and then smirked a little. "The chances of that are even smaller than that of the elixir working now."

Damon narrowed his eyes and all about growled. "We'll see," he added. Not wanting to be there anymore, he took off to try and fix the disaster he had created.


	25. The Sun Also Rises

**a/n: :( I can't believe the season finale is tonight...it's going to a long summer. Hopefully the cliffhanger I'm sure they're going to leave us with won't be as bad as the last one :)**

TWENTY-FIVE

Everything felt surreal. She couldn't hear or see anything; all she could do was feel. She was stuck in a void of nothing but darkness. She wasn't floating, but she wasn't touching solid ground either. Every so often she would feel a pull towards...something. She couldn't tell what, but it made everything spin. She didn't even know how long she had been there, but she had a nagging feeling that she had somewhere to be and that she was running late.

As she thought that, she felt that pull again. This time, she could see a bit of light and it hurt. "_Come back to me. I need you_." The words floated around her, making her essence tingle.

She clung to those words, trying to follow them and the light. As she began her journey, she felt that pull, even more intense than the last time. It sucked the air out of her and made the darkness blend with the light in a dizzying effect. Without a sense of time, the effects seem to last forever, slowly tapering off and letting things return to normal.

"_Please, wake up." _That voice called to her again and she felt another tug, bringing her closer to the light. The tingling sensation was back and intense to the point of pain. "_Wake up. I love you. Elena, I love you so much_."

At the mention of her name, she felt one last strong tug and the light vanished. In the next instant her essence collided into her body and she woke, gasping for air. Her head hurt from her sensitivity to the light. Her lungs were on fire from lack of oxygen. The worst part was the swirling sensation of being brought back to life so forcefully. Everything came rushing back to her at once as her body adjusted to being alive again.

"Elena?" she heard and felt someone touch her.

She swatted their hand away and groaned, leaning forward to rest her head between her knees. "Don't touch," she moaned, squeezing her eyes shut and willing herself not to throw up.

When everything started to settle down, she eased herself into a normal sitting position and let her eyes rest on Damon. He was staring at her intently, waiting for her to lash out at him at any given moment. She did a quick look around the room and then sought his gaze again. "You're not a vampire," he said quietly.

"How?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

His jaw locked and he reached forward to take her hands. He knew he had to tell her, but she had just come back. He could see the tears welling up in her eyes and he brought her to him. She clung to him as tight as she could and her tears wet his shirt. "I'll tell you everything, but not right now," he said, stroking her back lightly.

Instead of demanding information, she nodded and stayed right where she was. Damon rocked her gently back and forth, relief flooding his emotions as he held her back. He had been so mortified to see her lifeless body on the ground at Klaus's feet. It was a sight he never wanted to see again, but it was engraved in his memories. When he had gotten her to the house where Alaric and Jeremy had been left behind, he had cleaned up the blood from her throat and used his own to heal her wounds. After telling the other two men about Jenna's fate, they had left him alone with Elena to be there for her when she woke. It wasn't until Stefan and Bonnie returned with even more bad news that they took care of John's body.

"Take me home," she mumbled against his neck.

Damon was more than happy to oblige. He picked her up bridal style, her arms still wound around her neck, and carried her through the woods to the boarding house. It would have been easier in his car, but he didn't want to let go of her. Not now, not ever. It wasn't until they were in his room, lying side-by-side in his bed, that she moved enough so that she could see him. "Jenna-"

"I know," he answered, his thumb gently stroking her cheek. Tears were spilling down her cheeks as she shook her head.

"I don't understand. I did everything he asked," she whispered, her voice broken.

Damon pulled her to him again. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and continued to cry softly. "There's more. You're not going to like it," he warned.

"Tell me," she breathed.

"John was the one that saved your life. He combined his life with yours and when you died, his brought you back." He paused and pulled her closer. "He's gone, Elena."

Elena said nothing, but clung to him more.

"And Klaus is still out there. The curse was broken. Elijah was supposed to kill him, but the bastard betrayed us and helped Klaus escape. But for now, it's over."

"It's not over," Elena breathed. "It'll never be over."

Damon placed a kiss on the top of her head and took a deep breath. He didn't say anything to that because he didn't know what to say. It was true; somewhat. As long as the doppelganger was alive, Elena would never be safe. Instead, they lay there silently. Elena's sobs slowed to a stop and before long her breathing was steady and deep indicating that she had fallen asleep. Damon felt all the stress he had been under the past twenty-four hours beginning to dissolve and joined her a few minutes later.

* * *

Elena stood in her room, staring at the photos that framed her mirror. In the past year she had lost almost all of her family members. Even those she didn't know existed before. As her eyes rested on a photo of Jenna, tears clouded her vision and she turned away. She blinked, clearing her vision, and saw Jeremy lounging in her doorway. A lump welled up in throat as she thought of everything Damon had told her before she left.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered for the millionth time. "Because of me, your family..."

"Hey, they were your family too," he said, stepping into the room. "And I still love you," he added before pulling her in for a hug.

Elena knew he was mad at her on some level. All that mattered was that he didn't blame her for most of it. "I love you too," she whispered and tightened her hold on him.

When he pulled back, he reached into his jacket and handed her a folded piece of paper and John's ring. "He wanted me to give these to you."

Elena took them slowly, not sure how she felt about that. "Thanks."

"I'll be downstairs. We still have some time before we have to leave," he said and left her alone.

Elena moved to the window seat and sat with her back against the wall. With the ring resting on her index finger, she unfolded the letter and took a deep breath before she began to read. _"Elena, I am genuinely sorry for all the pain I have caused you. I never wanted that for my daughter. I should have been more involved in your life. The fact that you're reading this instead of listening to me say it means that the spell worked. It was the only thing I could do to show you how important you are to me. I have always done what I thought was in your best interest. I want you to be happy. I want you to live your life exactly how you want and not to let anything stop you. I love you, Elena. I always have. -John._"

Elena folded the letter back up and slid the ring onto her finger. She turned to look out the window and wiped away a few tears while she let John's words sink in. Lost in thought, she jumped when she heard someone clear their throat and turned to see Damon standing in her doorway.

"There are some things we have to talk about," he said.

"I know," she answered, setting the letter on the bench next to her before getting to her feet. They both knew that there would never be a good time to talk about these things so now would have to do.

"I'm sorry about Jenna. I was so focused on ruining Klaus's plans that I never thought-"

Elena gave another small smile at that and shook her head. "If it hadn't been Jenna, it would have been Caroline and I would be just as sad as I am now. Either way, I lost some important to me and that is _not _your fault."

"But-"

"You were trying to buy us more time and I appreciate that," she said, moving towards him. She stopped and took his hands in hers, looking up so that their eyes could lock. "And I understand why you tried to turn me. I'm not mad at you for that."

"But..."

"But everything happened so fast and I just need some time to breathe. When I thought I was going to wake up a vampire, I thought about all the things I was going to give up. I'm only seventeen, Damon. I have so much to experience yet."

"What are you saying?" he asked carefully, bracing himself.

"I don't know," she said, her voice soft. "I know we've had this talk before, about kids and marriage, but I don't know if that's something I'm entirely read to rule out. I never really thought about it before, but when I thought it wasn't an option, I found myself missing it." She paused as she saw his jaw lock. "Look, I'm not saying that's what I want, it's just something I have to seriously consider. Like I said, I'm only seventeen. I have many years ahead of me to plan out my life. I still have to think about college and all of that stuff too."

Damon squeezed her hands and let them go so that he could cup her face. "I want you to experience life, Elena. I want you to be happy, more than anything." He smiled and stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. "The only thing tying me to Mystic Falls is you and if you decide to leave, I'll have no problem coming with you."

Elena thought about that and then remembered something he had said to her. "Do you remember the day we made it official?"

"Yes."

"You said that when all of this was over we could spend some time away from Mystic Falls," she said, placing her hands on his waist. "Did you mean it?"

He nodded. "I think some time away from here would be a great idea." He tilted his head and searched her eyes. "Does that mean we're not over?"

"We just stared," she replied, seeing his eyes light up with hope. "I want us to work, Damon, I do. I love you too much to just walk away, but I have some growing up to do." She knew that it had taken a lot to admit that they loved each other and if she left him now, she would be no better than Katherine. The difference between her and the elder vampire was that she had no intention of leaving him.

"Just promise me that you won't shut me out. I'll give you space if and when you need it, but I'm not going to leave you alone all together Elena. I want to be there for you always."

"And you will be," she assured him. "I love you," she added.

"I love you too," he replied and leaned down to capture her lips with his. The kiss was brief, but passionate. He could taste her grief and she could sense that there was something he wasn't telling her. When she pulled back, she searched his eyes and saw that he was hiding something. "We should go," he said, stepping away from her.

"Okay," she said and slowly began heading downstairs.

Damon stood in her room, watching her walk away. He knew it was wrong, to get her to agree to stay together when he knew their time would be limited, but he wanted as much time with her as he could get. He had already decided that she would never know of the wolf bite that was wreaking havoc with his system. The last thing he wanted was for her to worry about him. She had already lost so much and he didn't want to cause her anymore pain.

It was bad enough that Stefan had saw the wound earlier. He had walked into the parlor while Damon was inspecting it. He had to tell Stefan the whole story and made him promise not to tell anyone, especially Elena. As he left to come here, he had seen the pain and sadness in Stefan's eyes and it haunted him.

"Are you coming?" Elena's voice tore him from his thoughts and he looked up to see her at the top of the stairs, staring at him with a curious expression. He nodded and followed her, driving her and Jeremy to the graveyard.


	26. As I Lay Dying part 1

**a/n: omg you guys, I'm soooo sorry about the delay! No matter how much I wanted to write, I just couldn't do more than like half a page at a time. The good news is that I ended up getting more than I thought and I'll be splitting the finale into two chapters. This chapter is canon with the show, the next one will be me for the most of it.**

**on a sidenote, I probably won't be doing more than finishing the stories that I have going now, but once things settle down and this horrible writer's block is done, I'll be sure to start the stories that I've been promising forever. Hopefully this was worth the wait! And I will try my hardest to get the next chapter up by the end of next week :)****  
**  
TWENTY-SIX

Since Damon had told him about being bitten, Stefan had been out wandering through the woods. His intention had been to eat, but he couldn't summon up enough concentration to track anything properly. He had lost track of time, becoming aware of it only because the sunlight had broken through the trees from above. After a few hours of walking in the daylight, he knew it was time to face his brother and the fear he had of losing him. Their relationship was rocky at best and he had always wanted Damon out of his life, but now that Damon's death would be permanent, Stefan wanted nothing more than to reverse it.

He raked a hand through his hair as he thought about Elena. If he was going to take this hard, she was going to take it harder. He knew Damon wouldn't tell her until the last possible moment, if at all and Stefan wanted her to have as much time with him as possible. With that thought in mind, he turned towards the boarding house to check on Damon before going to seek out Elena.

The moment Stefan opened the front door, the scent of burning flesh filled his nose. Panic washed over him as he realized what was happening. He followed the scent to the parlor to see Damon standing in the sunlight without his ring. He wasted no time in tackling his brother to the ground and out of harm's way.

Damon groaned and rolled onto his back. He took a deep breath and looked at Stefan who was hovering over him. "What the hell were you thinking?" Stefan asked, his voice filled with hurt and anger.

"Do I really have to dignify that with an answer?" Damon replied as Stefan shoved his ring back onto his middle finger.

Stefan swore as he got to his feet. He stared at Damon for a moment as he decided what to do. Once he had made up his mind, he leaned forward and picked Damon up, slinging him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "No, I guess you don't."

"Stefan, put me down," Damon demanded.

"I will," he replied as he carried Damon to the basement. He stopped long enough to set Damon down in one of the cells.

"Oh come on," Damon whined as Stefan moved outside to shut the door and lock him in.

"I'm doing this for your own good. I can't risk anymore suicide attempts."

"Then why don't you just stay at home and sit by my deathbed?"

"Because I'm going to find a cure."

Damon let out a curt laugh that was immediately followed by coughing. "We've been through this, Stefan. There is no cure."

Stefan was silent for a moment before he shook his head. "I'll find one. I promise," he said, giving Damon his best look of determination. Not waiting for a response, Stefan turned and headed upstairs. Before leaving to find Elena, Stefan dug his phone from his pocket and dialed Alaric's number. If he was going to leave Damon in the basement, he didn't want to leave him alone.

"What do you want?" Alaric answered, his words slowed and slurred.

"I wanted to see how you were doing."

Alaric gave a bitter laugh. "My girlfriend just died twice in the same day and I didn't even have the chance to say goodbye to her. How do you think I'm holding up?"

Stefan closed his eyes for a moment. He didn't have time for subtlety and decided to get straight to the point. "I also called to tell you that Damon needs you."

"Damon can go to hell."

"He's dying, Ric."

"What?" Alaric's voice had changed from hate to concern in seconds flat.

"Tyler bit him when he was trying to free them."

"But that was..." he started, his voice trailing off. "Oh."

"He's locked in the basement, but he needs someone. I don't want him to be alone, but I have to go and look for a cure."

Rather than tell Stefan it was a lost cause, Alaric cleared his throat. "Alright, I'm on my way."

"Thank you."

"Good luck," he added before hanging up. With that, Stefan returned the phone to his pocket and left the boarding house.

* * *

Bonnie opened her door and went completely still at the sight of Stefan. "What do you want?" she asked, her voice tired and worn out, matching the weary look on her face.

"I have a favor to ask of you."

Bonnie took a deep breath and stepped onto the patio. "What is it now?"

"I need a cure for a werewolf bite."

Again, her eyes went wide as she studied him. "You don't-"

"It's not for me," he said quietly.

Her lips pressed into a thin line and she shook her head once. "I'm sorry Stefan, I can't do it. I don't care how much good he's done lately, it still doesn't make up for the fact that he killed my grandmother."

"Bonnie, I'm asking you to do this for Elena. In a year she lost all four of her parents and her guardian. Do you really think that she'll be able to get over it if Damon dies too?" He watched as she cast her eyes to the ground. "Please, Bonnie," he said in a soft voice.

After a long bout of silence, Bonnie finally answered. "What do you want me to do?"

Stefan let out a sigh of relief. "Maybe one of the spirits knows something. They've been around for a long time and I believe they would tell you."

"What if-"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Stefan said sternly, not wanting to think about what would happen if he couldn't find a cure.

Once they were in Stefan's car, Bonnie turned to look at him. "Just so we're clear, this is the last time I do anything for Damon even if it's for Elena."

Stefan nodded, but said nothing. Their drive to the abandoned mansion was a silent one. The moment he parked, Bonnie bolted from the car and started walking inside. Stefan stood just outside the entrance and peered around. Bonnie stopped and looked back at him. "I know I don't have to be invited, but Damon mentioned they threw him out once."

She shrugged, "That's because Damon is evil and they know it. They don't mind you," she said before turning and walking up the stairs to the room she had performed the rituals in.

Stefan took a deep breath and stepped inside so that he could follow her. Relief washed over him when nothing happened. He stood just inside the room as he watched Bonnie stand inside the chalk drawn circle. She let her head fall back and her eyes close as she started muttering something in that ancient language. Stefan looked around as he heard voices whispering in that same language. It was strange that the voices of the spirits could be tangible. He could feel the words wrapping around his skin like the wind.

And in the next instant, everything stopped. Bonnie looked at him with a sadness in her eyes. "What did they say?" he asked.

"Klaus. Find him, find the cure."

* * *

After taking Bonnie home, Stefan texted Caroline asking if she knew where Elena was. She replied saying they were in the town center getting ready to watch Gone With The Wind. She also asked why he didn't just text Elena. He explained that he didn't want to alarm her, which in turn alarmed Caroline, but she agreed to not say anything. Stefan parked as far away from the square as he could and sped his way through the crowd until he found Elena. She was with Jeremy and Caroline on a blanket with a cooler and snacks.

"Hey. I didn't know you were coming," Elena said, looking around. He knew she was looking for Damon, but said nothing as she met his gaze.

"I just came to see you. Can I talk to you for a minute?"

He heard Elena's heart skip a beat as she sucked in a shaky breath. He knew she could sense that there was trouble and simply nodded, letting him help her to her feet. "Be right back," she mumbled and followed Stefan to a quiet spot out of human earshot. "This is about Damon isn't it?" Stefan nodded and Elena shook her head before running her hand through her hair. "I knew something was off about him and he hasn't been answering my calls or messages." She paused and stopped moving to look at him. The tears in her eyes made his gut wrench. "And I think it's safe to assume you're not here with good news," she muttered.

Stefan shook his head. "I wish it were good news," he said lightly. "I really do."

"What is it?" she asked, trying her best to hold back tears.

"The night of the ritual, he was trying to lead Caroline, Tyler, and Matt to safety, but Tyler had already started the change and..." his voice trailed off as he saw the tears flow down her cheeks. He noticed the way her skin had turned a shade lighter and the fact that she swayed on her feet.

Elena felt sick to her stomach. She could feel her strength slipping at the idea of losing Damon and it was hard to stand. "Tyler bit him." It wasn't a question.

Stefan nodded. "Yes."

Elena closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "That makes today the third day." She brought her hands to her face and wiped away tears as she opened her eyes to look at him again. "Oh God, I can't lose him," she breathed and Stefan brought her to him.

"I know. I can't lose him either," he returned and tightened his hold. "I'm going to do everything I can to find a cure."

"Stefan-"

"I can't make any promises; I _won't _make any promises." He pulled back and held Elena by her biceps so that he could look her in the eye. "He made me promise not to tell you, but you need to know, Elena. You need to spend as much time with him as you can."

She nodded and Stefan moved her hands up to her face to wipe the remaining tears from her face. "How are you going to find a cure? We looked for Rose, but we didn't find anything."

Stefan gave a sorrow filled smile and Elena shook her head. "He's my brother, Elena. He is the only family I have left. I owe it to him to do whatever it takes to cure him. I'm the one that made him turn."

"Yes, but-" she started, realizing what he meant.

"Elena, I've already made up my mind," he said, letting go of her.

As he started to walk away, Elena grabbed him and moved in front of him. "But going to Klaus might get you killed and I am _not_ okay with losing both of you. I almost went through that once."

"I know that."

"Stefan-"

"I want you to be happy, Elena. I want Damon to be happy. He was with Katherine first and I knew that. I lied before and I'm sorry. I took everything from him including his life because I was jealous of him. For the first time in my life, he had what I wanted and I didn't like it. So yes, I'm going to Klaus. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't, thinking about the what-ifs. I don't know what I would do without him and I am not ready to find out. Not when I was so close to getting my brother back."

Before Elena could say anything, she felt a small breeze on her face and Stefan was gone from her sight.

* * *

Alaric walked into the boarding house slowly. Stefan had told him Damon was locked up, but with the way things were going around town, he figured it didn't hurt to be a little cautious. He made his way down to the basement and the moment he opened the door, he could hear Damon calling out for both Katherine and Elena. He remembered being told that Rose had been having hallucinations and confused Elena for Katherine too and it made him very glad that Damon was secured and Elena was nowhere to be seen. Instead of going to see Damon first, he made a pit stop at the fridge where the Salvatore's kept their blood and poured Damon a glass. When he reached the cell, he put it between two bars and looked at Damon.

"I brought you something to eat."

"What are you doing here?" Damon asked, his voice raspy.

"Stefan called me."

"And you actually came?" Damon stared up at him with narrowed eyes. "Let me guess, you came for revenge because I'm an easy target and all."

Alaric shook his head. "No, I came because despite my genuine dislike for you, you're a good friend. Believe it or not, I am _your _only friend."

"Friends do not get their friend's girlfriends killed."

"They also don't kill their friend's wives, but I already let that one slide," Alaric fired back, causing Damon to smirk.

Slowly, his smirk diminished and he pushed himself up into a sitting position. "I really am sorry about Jenna. I didn't mean-"

"It's okay, Damon. I'm not mad at you. You were trying to save two of Elena's best friends and no one would have thought for a second that Klaus would do that to Jenna. I'm mad at him, not you."

"It's just because I'm dying isn't it?"

Alaric smiled and gave a half shrug. "I guess you'll never know."

"Where's Elena?" Damon asked after a long silent pause.

"She'll be here," Alaric answered, not knowing exactly when she would show up. "Just don't talk, okay? Conserve your energy."

"For what?"

"Just do it," Alaric demanded as he sunk to the ground. He was tired of talking. He wanted to be there for Damon, but he didn't know how. For now, all he could do was sit there and lend some moral support until Elena came.

* * *

Elena paced back and forth in Sheriff Forbes's office. She was still fuming about how unfair her friend's mother was being. Liz knew she was involved with Damon and yet she had forced her to come down to the police station so she could "take care" of Damon. The worst part was that Damon had gotten away. An officer had opened the door to his cell and he ran. Elena knew he was looking for her and part of her felt guilty for taking so long to go see him. The truth was she couldn't face him. She knew the next time she saw him would be the last and it killed her that she hadn't realized something was wrong with him the first time.

Elena stopped to sigh in frustration. Just as the anger of the situation began to reach it's peak, she saw her escape. Without even hesitating, she picked up the chair and bashed it into the window. The glass shattered immediately, raining sharp sparkling pieces all over the office as well as the ground on the outside of the building. Elena climbed out easily enough and made her way towards the showing of Gone With The Wind which was now almost half over. She couldn't explain it, but she just _knew _that Damon was close by.

Elena continued to walk through the crowd. She stopped at the edge and scanned it again just in case she had missed something. She jumped as a hand went over her mouth and an arm looped around her waist, pulling her off to the side. She was pushed back in the wall of building out of view from anyone else and looked up to see Damon. Her heart nearly broke in two as she threw her arms around him, not caring that he looked like death warmed over.

"I'm so sorry. I should have come to see you earlier."

"Katherine?" he mumbled and Elena pulled away in surprise.

"No, Damon, it's me, Elena," she said softly. She remembered Rose had gone through hallucinations and had also mistaken her for her vampiric twin, but it seemed worse with Damon. "Katherine's not here."

Damon's eyes were full of confusion as he pressed forward, pushing Elena against the rough brick wall. His gaze dropped from hers and down to her neck where it lingered and he licked his lips. Before Elena could grasp the reality of the situation, Damon had leaned in and pressed his lips to her throat.

"Damon, no," she pleaded, already too late as she felt the sting of fangs pierce her skin.

He drank slow and deep. Elena could feel each pull as blood left her body. Her heart hammered against her chest as she fought the urge to struggle, knowing it would probably lead to a worst case scenario. Her breath came in short, ragged waves and her fingers dug into his shoulder blades.

"Damon, stop. You're hurting me," she whispered around the lump in her throat.

It wasn't until her grip loosened on his shoulders that Damon snapped back to reality. He could taste the human quality in the blood and he pulled away. He stared in horror at the sight of the blood on Elena's neck that trickled out of the puncture marks he had left. "Elena?"

She moved forward to catch him as he swayed on his feet. She remembered Rose feeling sick after feeding too. "Let's get you home," she said, supporting him the best she could.

"I'm sorry."

"I know," she whispered and paused, trying to figure out how to get to the boarding house where both of their cars were.

Just as Elena was about to give up, Caroline came around the corner and went to Damon's other side, helping Elena support him even more. "Come on Damon, let's get you home," she said and began moving towards her car.


	27. As I Lay Dying part 2

**a/n: so the ending of this was not planned at all...that was all Damon and Elena, I swear lol. Other than that, this chapter turned out exactly like I planned it :) So this is it for One Kiss :( This story has been so much fun and soooo challenging at times! I'm so glad that it worked out and that you guys enjoyed it! I may or may not do a season three with the same formula, but I will not be continuing this story with a sequel.**

**And I am kind of starting to write again, so be on the lookout for (hopefully) more frequent updates of my other stories! You guys are amazing! Thanks for making this story so successful!**

TWENTY-SEVEN

Caroline had stayed long enough to help Elena get Damon into bed. After that, she left them to be alone with only a look of sorrow and pain to her friend and one of goodbye to her sire. Elena removed his shoes and long sleeved shirt before going into the bathroom to get a damp washcloth and a dry one. She moved the pillows from one side of the bed and sat with her back against the headboard. She pulled Damon's head into her lap and began wiping the sweat from his brow.

"You should go too."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"It's not safe. I already hurt you once."

Elena was silent as she continued to wipe his face. Her other hand began tracing his jaw and tears immediately clouded her eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner," she whispered, knowing if she raised her voice she would lose all control she had. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't want you to watch me die." Damon opened his eyes to see her first tear shed. "Because I didn't want to watch _you_ watch me die."

He reached up and took her shaking hands in his. Using the last of his remaining strength, he pulled her down so that they could wrap their arms around one another. Elena rested her head on his chest as his chin lay atop her head. Idly, her fingers ran up and down his back as his played with her hair. "Stefan said he'll find a cure," she murmured. It wasn't exactly the truth, but she had wanted it to sound more reassuring than it was. For herself or Damon she wasn't sure.

"Stefan says a lot of things," he muttered.

"But-"

"Don't get your hopes up, Elena. It will only make things worse if you do." He placed a kiss on her forehead and she felt a tear fall onto her skin. "There is one thing I want you to promise me."

"Okay," she breathed with unease clear in her voice.

"In the top drawer on your side is a-"

"No."

"Elena-"

"I'm not going to kill you," she said, pulling back to look at him.

He laid a hand on her cheek and smiled faintly. "You might not have to. All I'm asking is that you do it when the time comes."

Elena felt tears gliding down her cheek as she gave a weak nod before returning her head to his chest. She then closed her eyes and moved closer to him. Neither one of them wanted to talk about the eventual outcome or the lack of hope, but she wanted to hear his voice as long as she could. "When this is all over, where are we going?"

"Elena-"

"Just tell me," she pleaded, her voice thick with tears.

Damon closed his eyes and inhaled her scent. He was silent for a long moment before he gave in and obliged her. "There's a place down in Florida. It's right on the beach. There's a porch that wraps around the entire second level and the master bedroom has an incredible view of the ocean."

Elena smiled and moved her hand to his side so that her fingers could trace his skin. "Sounds wonderful."

"It is. I used to just lie there for hours and listen to the waves." He placed another kiss onto the top of her head and continued. "Although if you were there with me I wouldn't be able to concentrate," he whispered.

"Tell me more."

"I would serve you breakfast in bed every morning and then we would head down to the shore line and spend all day there. When the sun finally set beyond the horizon, we would go back to the house and I would cook you dinner while you took a shower. Although I would ruin the meal each and every time because I would be too distracted with thinking about you in the shower."

Elena let out a light laugh which quickly turned to sobs as she choked back her tears. At the same moment they tightened their hold on one another; feeling each other's tears on their skin. "I want that," Elena managed to get out.

"Me too Elena. I want that more than anything."

"I love you so much."

"My God, you too are so pathetic. No wonder Klaus chose Stefan."

Elena pulled away enough so that she could turn around and see Katherine standing in the room. She got to her feet and wiped at her eyes, her hand seeking Damon's. "What are you doing here?"

Katherine's eyes flickered to Damon and for a second Elena saw her concern before she looked back at the human girl. "I came to give you this," she said, holding up a vial of what Elena could only guess was blood.

"What is it?"

Katherine smirked a little. "The cure."

Elena's eyes lit up and her body went rigid as a big bubble of triumph washed over her. Just as she was about to step forward, she realized what Katherine had said about Klaus choosing Stefan. "Where's Stefan?" she asked, her voice full of panic.

"He made a deal with Klaus."

"What kind of deal?"

The vampire took a few steps forward until she was standing an arms length away from Elena. "Does it really matter?" she asked. She grabbed Elena's hand and pressed the vial into it. Elena's eyes met hers with question and Katherine only smirked more.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Elena asked quietly as she stared down at the contents in her grasp.

"Because I owed Stefan this. He gave me the vervain so that Klaus couldn't control me and he asked me to bring this to you." Her eyes went to Damon and the smirk faded from her face. "You might want to give that to him now," she added and then she was gone.

Elena let out a deep breath she had been aware she was holding and it woke her up from her trance-like state. She turned towards Damon and pushed him onto his back, eliciting a groan from him. She parted his lips and opened the vial before letting the contents drip down his throat. He drank deeply until he had gotten every last drop and then closed his lips again. Elena rolled up his sleeve and watched as the brutal looking bite healed itself before her very eyes.

Tears rolled down her cheek as she sat by his side and waited for him to wake up. When he did, he simply opened his eyes and stared at her. "Hey," she breathed, her voice shaky from the roller coaster of emotions she had just been through.

Taking her by complete surprise, Elena yelped as he surged forward and held her tightly to him. He moved so that his lips could crash onto hers and he kissed her with a fiery passion almost unlike anything else they had experienced before. The grabbed at each other, not caring how hard their fingers dug into the other's skin. It wasn't until his fangs descended and caught her lip that he pulled away abruptly and got to his feet. His tongue darted out to taste the drop of blood that had gotten on his lip and he smirked as she stared back, panting heavily.

"I think we should put off that particular celebration until I eat."

"You could-"

"No, I need more than you can give and I need it fresh," he said, hoping she would catch his drift.

"Oh," she whispered and got to her feet. "How?"

"I'll go to another town, I just need to do it soon." He moved to her side and pulled her to him again. "Why don't you go home and wait for me? When I'm done we'll talk about what to do next, okay?"

"Stefan-"

"Later," he interrupted and kissed her forehead.

She nodded and pulled away from him. "Later," she repeated and sat on his bed. "But I'll be here. This is my home, remember?"

Damon grinned. "That's what I was hoping you'd say," he said and left without another word.

Elena sank down onto the bed as she continued to stare at the space he had just vacated, her mind trying to process the sudden turn of events. Slowly, tears of joy clouded her eyes and streamed down her face. As she raised her hand to wipe away her tears, she noticed something move from the corner of her eye and jumped when she saw Katherine leaning against the door frame.

"Relax, I'm not here to hurt you."

"Then what are you doing here?" Elena asked wiping her eyes.

"I figured you would have a few questions about Stefan and I didn't want the two of you hunting me down to get them. So I stayed here to talk to you. I'm tired of running."

Elena swallowed thickly. "Is he okay?"

"He went to Klaus to find a cure and Klaus doesn't let anyone have things for free. How do you think Stefan is?"

"Katherine..."

The female vampire sighed and moved closer to her human doppelganger. "Fine, I'll start from the beginning. But I'm warning you now, you're not going to like what I have to say." She paused long enough for Elena to nod and then she continued. "Stefan came and asked if I knew anything about a cure. I told him that I didn't, but he already knew that. Apparently he was just waiting for Klaus to show up. And he did. He came in with Elijah and killed him right on the spot. That was when he asked what Stefan was doing there. After Stefan explained, Klaus gave him a blood bag and demanded that he drink it. He told Stefan he could have the cure if he agreed to do something in return."

Elena swallowed hard as her eyes squeezed shut. She hated the idea of Stefan being back on human blood especially being around Klaus too. "What was it?" she asked, her breathing shaky.

"He wanted ten years of servitude from Stefan in exchange for curing Damon."

"Servitude?"

Katherine nodded. "Stefan was...different on human blood," she said and smirked. "Well, I guess you've had a glimpse at how he is."

"But he would never-"

Katherine reached out and cupped Elena's jaw, forcing her to look at the vampire. "The real reason I fell in love with Stefan is because I saw that darkness in him. Damon might have everyone fooled that he's the bad brother, but that's not true and you know it." She let go of Elena and smirked again. "He wasn't just avoiding human blood because he didn't want to kill people; he was avoiding it because he hated that he enjoyed it."

Elena said nothing as she continued to stare at Katherine. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew Katherine was right. After reading about some of the things Stefan had done in the Gilbert journals, she knew anything was possible. "Then what?" she asked around a tight throat.

"He agreed. Anything to save Damon. So Klaus kept giving him blood bags to see how far he was willing to go. After a few more bags, he told Klaus he wouldn't drink another drop until he got the cure. That's when he had me step up and he bit my arm. After a few seconds he gave me his blood and the bite mark healed before my eyes."

Elena could see the fear in Katherine's eyes. "I'm sorry he bit you," she said quietly.

"No you're not," she said and shrugged. "Klaus gave me the vial and released me from the apartment. I could hear Stefan yelling after me." She paused to pout. "He didn't think I would come here."

"Well..." Elena said. "So why did Klaus want Stefan?"

Katherine shook her head. "I'm not entirely sure. All I know is that Klaus is pure evil and he's probably planning something big. He would offer that kind of trade to anyone if he didn't think Stefan could do it."

"Ten years..." Elena mumbled, looking down at the ground.

"Is far too long."

Elena's eyes snapped back up as she studied Katherine. "What?"

"Look, I'm all for Stefan going on a killing spree here and there, but I know what will happen when his servitude his up. There won't be a shred of humanity anywhere in him and he'll likely stay with Klaus anyway." She took a step towards Elena and placed her hands on her hips. "If Stefan's going to do any sort of killing, it's going to be by my side, not Klaus's."

"So what are you saying, exactly?"

"I'm saying that when the time is right, when we figure out what Klaus is up to and form a plan to stop him, we will."

"We?"

"Well yes," she said, confusion clouding her features. "I was under the impression that you still cared for him as well."

"I do, I just didn't think you would want our help."

"I don't _want _it, but I _need_ it." She sighed and took a step back. "I heard you and Damon talking about a little getaway."

"If Stefan's out there-"

"You should go. If we're going to go after Klaus, we're going to need everyone at their best and right now everyone is beyond worn out. We both know Stefan well enough to know that he will be holding onto his humanity the best he can for as long as he can. We have time, but not much." Katherine moved until she reached the door, turning back to look at Elena one last time. "Be seeing you," she said and disappeared once again.

* * *

Elena stood on the patio outside the master bedroom, staring out at the ocean. The sun was almost completely gone, casting a fiery glow over the water. The slight breeze tugged at her hair and tickled her skin. A smile spread across her face as she felt arms wrap around her from behind followed by Damon's head resting on her shoulder. "Are you just going to stand out here or will you eventually come inside?" he asked, his voice low as to not interrupt the tranquility.

She reached up and placed her hands on his arms. "I have been out here awhile, huh?"

"It wouldn't have to do anything with the fact that you just didn't want to help unpack, would it?" he teased, turning to press a kiss onto her skin.

Elena closed her eyes as he continued to place lazy kisses on her neck. "Maybe a little."

She felt him smirk into the curve of her neck before he let go enough so that he could turn her to face him. "What's wrong?" he asked, searching her eyes.

"It's just..." she started and took a deep breath. "Stefan. I can't help but feel guilty about being here while he's out there doing God knows what for Klaus."

Damon hung his head for a moment before looking back at Elena. He raised his hands to cup her face and smiled lightly at her. "As much as I hate to admit this, Katherine was right. If we go after him now, we'll lose; big time. We need time to recover and form a plan so that when the time is right, we have a chance at succeeding. Besides, we also need time to fix us."

"What's wrong with us?" she asked.

"I forced you to drink my blood. You may understand my reasons, but there's a part of you that doesn't trust me. I need to know that you trust me completely otherwise we're never going to be able to do this."

"But-"

Damon moved a finger over her lips and smirked at her. "I hate it just as much as you do, but there's nothing we can do right now, Elena. We _will_ get him back. I promise."

Elena nodded and he leaned in to kiss her. "Maybe you could compel me to forget about everything until we're ready to go back to Mystic Falls," she mumbled into the kiss.

Damon chuckled and moved his lips to her neck, his hands sliding down to grab her rear. "I think I'd like to make you forget the old fashioned way," he breathed and nipped at her skin lightly with his blunt teeth.

Elena shivered and her fingers dug into his hips as a reflex. She moved closer, leaving no space between them, and arched her body into his. "Give it your best shot," she challenged, her voice husky with lust.

Damon tightened his grasp on her and lifted. Elena wrapped her legs around his waist and closed her eyes as he used his supernatural speed to get them back into the bedroom. He laid her gently down onto the bed and waited until she opened her eyes. Once their gazes were locked, he slowly started undressing her. Countless times he had made love to her without taking his gaze from hers and still the intensity made her hot and nervous at the same time.

With a lazy grin, he slid her underwear down her legs and then kneeled before her. He kissed his way up the soft skin of her thighs which she parted in anticipation. He nipped at the spot above her femoral artery and she jumped briefly. The action was followed with a low moan as she felt his breath get closer to her core. Damon closed his eyes for a second as the scent of her arousal washed over him. For a split second his mind went to the last time they had slept together; the time he had forced her to take his blood. He shuddered inwardly and felt guilty. If he thought it would have been their last time together, he should have done better. He should have given her everything instead of making it quick and with no connection.

"Damon?" Her voice broke him from his stupor and he looked up at her over her body, giving her a light smile. "You okay?"

His tongue darted out to taste her and her body quivered. "More than okay," he murmured. Pushing all thoughts aside, Damon concentrated on the task at hand; making them both forget. He brought them here to relax and heal and in order to do that, he had to block everything out of his mind. With Elena by his side, he was more than capable of doing just that.

Elena's head ground against the comforter as Damon used his expert skill to work her body. Her fingers clutched at the material, flexing in rhythm to his tongue. A gasp escaped her lips as two of his fingers slipped inside of her body. As they thrust in and out of her, his tongue flicked over her clit, bringing her closer to the edge at a faster pace than every before. Her sighs of satisfaction urged him on and before long her back was bowing off the bed. One hand shot down to his head, her fingers sifting through his hair. "Damon!" she called as he sent her over the edge into bliss.

By the time Elena came down from her high, Damon had already removed all of his clothes and was hovering above her. His lips were attached to her neck, his favorite spot on her body, placing kisses and love bites along the skin. Elena bent her knees and cradled his body to hers, her hands reaching up to sink into his hair. "Still remember?" he asked, his lips having moved to her ear.

"Remember what?" she returned, smirking back at him when he pulled back to look at her.

"Good," he breathed and entered her.

Elena's eyes went wide as her lips parted with surprise. Damon smiled victoriously and captured her lips with his own, swallowing her moan as he moved within her. He started slow and deep, going all the way in before sliding all the way out. With each thrust, Elena's body rose to accept more of him. It wasn't long before he picked up the pace, bordering on supernatural speed. Elena moaned and thrashed beneath him, but never wavered in meeting him with each thrust.

"Damon!" she cried out, her body quivering as he sent her over the edge again. Damon followed her almost immediately, sending her higher into oblivion by sinking his fangs into her neck.

By the time they both came back to reality, Damon was licking up the excess blood from her neck. Elena panted to catch her breath and moaned slightly as Damon pulled out of her and laid by her side. He looped an arm around her and pulled her to him so that she was lying half on him and half on the bed. "Thank you," he whispered.

Elena craned her neck to look up at him. "You're welcome?"

He smiled at her and shrugged, putting his free arm behind his head. "You could have just walked away after what I did, especially when you started thinking about the future."

Elena propped herself up so that she could look down at him. "I would never just walk away from you, Damon. Yes, what you did was bad, but emotions were all over the place and tension was high. If I get my way, I'll never have to leave your side."

"Prove it," he demanded, earning a raised eyebrow and a look of confusion from Elena.

"I don't-"

"Marry me."

Her eyes widened to the point where he thought they were going pop out of her skull and it took all his resolve not to smile. "Damon..."

He untucked his arm and reached into the nightstand to pull out a little blue jewelry box. He opened it and held it out for her to see. "You don't have to give me a definite answer, but I want you to wear the ring. Think of it as a promise to revisit the question when the time is right."

"And when will that be?" she asked, unable to take her eyes off the ring.

He shrugged again. "When it's right, we'll know."

Elena swallowed thickly and then managed to tear her gaze away and look him in the eye. She studied him for a moment before breaking into a grin, her eyes going shiny with tears. She nodded her head and Damon smiled back. "Okay."

Damon took the ring out of the box and placed it onto her finger. She rewarded him with a searing kiss before returning her head to his chest. She held up her hand and studied the ring, admiring the way the remaining sunlight shone on the gem. "I love you," he said, tightening his hold on her.

"I love you too," she replied, looping her arm around his chest and closing her eyes.

For the first time in weeks, her mind was clear. She didn't feel drained and anxious. She was at peace and it was because of Damon Salvatore. With him, she would be able to face anything and the same could be said for him. Both knew what lie before them and the possibilities that not all would end well, but as long as they had each other, they didn't care. With that in both their minds, they drifted off to sleep, ready to take on anything life had to throw at them.


End file.
